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FEBRUARY 1985 VOL. 10, NO. 2 



$330 IN UNITED STATES 

$4.25 in CANADA / £2.10 in U.K. 

A McGRAW-HILL PUBLICATION 

0360-5280 



COMPUTING 

AND THE SCIENCES 







Today, there are more Apples in 
schools than any other computer. 

Unfortunately, there are still more 
kids in schools than Apples. 

So innocent youngsters (like your 
own) may have to fend off packs of bully 
nerds to get some time on a computer. 

Which is why it makes good sense 
to buy them an Apple" He Personal 
Computer of their very own. 

The lie is just like the leading com- 
puter in education, the Apple He. Only 
smaller. About the size of a three-ring note- 
book, to be exact. 

Even the price of the lie is small — 
under $1300* 



Of course, since the lie is the legiti- 
mate offspring of the He, it can access the 
worlds largest library of educational soft- 
ware. Everything from Stickybear Shapes™ 



programs in all. More than a few of which 
you might be interested in yourself. 

For example. 3-in-l integrated busi- 
ness software. Home accounting and tax 




it///' a He, your kid can do something cotistructiiv after school. Uhe learn to write stories 
Or learn to fly. Or eren learn something sligbtty more advanced, like mtdtivariable calculus. 



for preschoolers to SAT test preparation 
programs for college hopefuls. 

In fact, the He can run over 10,000 



programs. Diet and fitness programs. 

Not to mention fun programs for the 
whole family. Like "Genetic Mapping' and 



t&eSZ* CHESS! 



IwriiK „ 



MATH MAZE I****** I W \ 



THEAPPlEBBASiC* 



^B 



Wm&i 








Simulator 



I* 

m 






*S5i 



"Enzyme Kinetics! ' 

And the Apple He comes complete 
with everything you need to start computing 
in one box. 

Including a free 4-diskette course to 
teach you how— when your kids get tired 
of your questions. 

An RF modulator that can turn almost 
any TV into a monitor. 

As well as a long list of built-in 
features that would add about $800 to the 
cost of a smaller-minded computer. 

128K of internal memory— twice 



the power of the average office computer. So while your children's shoe sizes 

A built-in disk drive that would and appetites continue to grow at an 



drive up the price 
of a less-senior 
machine. 

And built- 
in electronics 
for adding 
accessories like 
a printer, a 
modem, an 
AppleMouse or 



In its optional earning case, the 
lie can wen run away from home. 




alarming rate, there's 
one thing you know 
can keep up with them. 
Their Apple He. 

To learn more 
about it, visit any 
authorized Apple dealer. 
Or talk to your own 
computer experts.^^ 

As soon 



an extra disk drive when the time comes, as they get home from school. 




* The FTC is concerned about price-fixing. So tlm is only a Suggested Retail Price. \hu can pay more if you really want to. © 1984 Appk Computer Inc. Apple and the :\j)ple torn are 
mastered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. Stickyhear Shapes is a trademark of Optimum Resource. For an authorized Apple dealer nearest you call (800) 538-9696. In Canada, call 

(800) 268-7796 »r (800) 268-7637. 



CONTENTS 









174 



FEATURES 

Introduction 96 

The HP Integral Personal Computer by Phillip Robinson 98 

Hewlett-Packard's new all-in-one system makes UNIX truly portable. 

Ciarcias Circuit Cellar: Build a Serial EPROM Programmer 

by Steve Garcia 104 

Steve devises an affordable version of an essential tool for hackers. 

The Macintosh Office by \ohn Markoff and Phillip Robinson 120 

AppleTaik networks the Macintosh and its new laser printer. 

C to Pascal by Ted Carnevale 138 

This program can make the conversion process less tedious. 

Simulate a Servo System by Don Stauffer 147 

Model complex engineering problems on personal computers. 

Introduction to Image Processing by Jeffrey L Star 163 

Manipulate images to make them more informative 

THEMES 

Introduction 174 

The Birth of a Computer conducted by ]ohn C. Nash 177 

In this interview, lames H. Wilkinson discusses the building 
of a computer designed by Alan Turing. 

A Low-Cost Data-Acquisition System 

by Kiyohisa Okamura and Kamyab AghaiTabriz 199 

A compromise between cost and quality, this system is adequate for many research projects. 

Fourier Smoothing Without the Fast Fourier Transform 

by Eric E. Aubanel and faith B. Oldham . 207 

The authors present an in-depth look at a technique for removing noise from your data. 

Paranoia: A Floating-Point Benchmark by Richard Karpinski 223 

Test the quality of your software, not just its speed. 

Modeling Mass-Action Kinetics by Alan Curtis 239 

In the future, microcomputers may have a substantial role in major scientific computations. 

Viewing Molecules with the Macintosh by Earl J Kirkland 251 

A BASIC program provides 3-D images of complex molecules. 

Laboratory Interfacing by Lincoln E. Ford, M.D 263 

A medical researcher examines the capabilities and limitations 
of an important laboratory device. 

Interfacing for Data Acquisition by Thomas R Clune 269 

Three interfaces are compared. 

REVIEWS 

Introduction 286 

Reviewer's Notebook by Glenn Hartwig 289 

NewWord by }ohn Heilborn and Nanci Reel 291 

A word processor from some of the creators of WordStar. 

BYTE (ISSN 0360-5280) is published monthly by McGraw-Hill Inc Founder lames H. McCraw (1860-1948] Executive, editorial, circulation, and advertis- 
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in the United States of America. 



2 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



COVER ILLUSTRATION BY ROBERT TINNEY 



BYTE 



February 



VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2. 1985 



Janus/Ada by Mark ]. Welch 295 

A nonstandard subset of Ada for MS-DOS and CP/M-80. 

The Epson Geneva PX-8 by Rich Malloy 302 

It weighs five pounds and features a CMOS Z80 microprocessor. 

Two Modula-2 Compilers for the IBM PC by Kevin Bowyer 311 

Price is but one of the differences between these implementations. 

E-Mail for the Masses by Wayne Rash Jr. . 317 

Comparing two electronic-mail services, MCI Mail and EasyUnk, 

Mannesmann Tally MT 160 by Mark ]. Welch 325 

A dot-matrix unit with a variety of print modes. 

Review Feedback 331 

Readers respond to previous reviews. 

KERNEL 









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Introduction 337 

Computing at Chaos Manor: Troubles by \erry Pournelle 339 

Jerry's usual look at a variety of products includes a section 
on the proliferation of computer books. 

Chaos Manor Mail conducted by jerry Pournelle 359 

Jerry's readers write, and he replies. 

BYTE Japan: Disks and Printers by William M. Raike 367 

Our correspondent in Japan describes important new peripherals 
displayed at the 1984 Data Show. 

BYTE West Coast What Next? 

by John Markoff, Phillip Robinson, and Ezra Shapiro 371 

Our West Coast editors report on Thunderscan. 

the ins and outs of windowing, new workstations, and more. 

BYTE U.K.: Realizing a Dream by Dick Pountain 379 

The Whitechapel Computer Works MG-1 personal workstation is 
almost a dream computer— and it costs less than its competitors. 

Computers and Law: Copying Mass-Marketed Software 

by Robert Greene Sterne and Perry J. Saidman 387 

This column debuts with a look at two Lotus lawsuits settled out of court. 

Circuit Cellar Feedback conducted by Steve Garcia 393 

Steve answers project-related queries from readers. 



4 

lM^ 



286 



' 



EDITORIAL: SERVICE AND 


Support 


6 


MlCROBYTES 




9 


Letters 




14 


Fixes and Updates . . . 




33 


Whats New 




39, 421 


Ask BYTE 




48 


Clubs & Newsletters . 




59 



Book Reviews 


65 


Event Queue • 


83 


Programming Insight 


399 


Books Received 


409 


Unclassified Ads 


477 


BYTE's Ongoing Monitor Box. 




BOMB Results 


.478 


Reader Service 


479 



\_ 




* i*r 



Address all editorial correspondence to the Editor. BYTE, POB 372. Hancock. NH 03449 Unacceptable manuscripts will be returned if accompanied 
by sufficient first-class postage Not responsible for lost manuscripts or photos Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of BYTE 

Copyright© 1985 by McGraw-Hill Inc All rights reserved Trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Where necessary, 
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London WCIR 4 El England 
Subscription questions or problems should be addressed to: BYTE Subscriber Service. POB 328 Hancock NH 03449 



337 



SECTION ART BY EUGENE MIHAESCO 



FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 3 



Inquiry 220 



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BYTE 



editor in chief 

Philip Lemmons 
managing editor 
Gene Smarte 
consulting editors 

Steve Garcia 
(erry pournelle 

SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITORS 

G. Michael Vose, Themes 
Gregg Williams 
technical editors 

Thomas R. Clune 

|on R. Edwards 

Richard Grehan 

Glenn Hartwig. Reviews 

Richard Krajewski 

Ken Sheldon 

Richard S. Shuford 

Jane Morrill Tazelaar 

Eva White 

Stanley Wszola 

Margaret Cook Gurney. Associate 

Alan Easton, Drafting 

WEST COAST EDITORS 

Ezra Shapiro. Bureau Chief. San Francisco 
John MARKOFF. Senior Technical Editor. Palo Alto 
Phillip Robinson, Senior Technical Editor. Palo Alto 
Donna Osgood, Associate Editor, San Francisco 
Brenda McLaughlin, Editorial Assistant. San Francisco 

NEW YORK EDITOR 

Richard M alloy, Senior Technical Editor 

managing editor. 

electronic publishing and communications 

George Bond 
user news editors 

Anthony f. Lockwood, Wriat's New 
Mark Welch. Microbytes 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 

Dennis Allison, at large 

Mark Dahmke. video, operating systems 

Mark Haas, at large 

Rik Iadrnicek. CAD. graphics, spreadsheets 

Mark Klein, communications 

Alan Miller, languages and engineering 

)ohn C. Nash, scientific computing 

Dick Pountain. U.K. 

William M. Raike. )apan 

Perry Saidman. computers and law 

Robert Sterne, computers and law 

Bruce Webster, software 

COPY EDITORS 

Bud Sadler, Chief 
Dennis Barker 
Elizabeth Cooper 
Anne L. Fischer 
Nancy Hayes 
Lynne M. Nadeau 
Paula Noonan 
Joan Vigneau Roy 
Warren Williamson 

ASSISTANTS 

Peggy Dunham 

Martha Hicks 

Beverly Iackson 

Faith Kluntz, Copyrights and Permissions 

Lisa Jo Steiner 



ART 

Rosslyn A. Frick. Art Director 
Nancy Rice, Assistant Art Director 



PRODUCTION 

David R. Anderson. Production Director 

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Len Lorette 

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MlCHELE GlLMORE 

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advertising/production 

Wai Chiu Li. Quality Control Director 

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CIRCULATION 

Gregory Spitzfaden. Director 

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Cathy A. R. Drew, Assistant Manager 

Laurie Seamans, Assistant Manager 

Susan Boyd 

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Linda Turner. Assistant Manager 

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marketing communications 

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Wilbur S. Watson, Operations Manager. Exhibits 

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ACCOUNTING 

Daniel Rodrigues, Business Managed Controller 

Kenneth A. King. Assistant Controller 

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Edson Ware, Credit 

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BUILDING SERVICES/TRAFFIC 

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RECEPTIONIST 

L. Ryan McCombs 



PERSONNEL 

Cheryl A. Hurd, Office Manager 
Patricia Burke. Personnel Coordinator 



BYTE BUSINESS PHONES 

Pete Huestis. 603-924-6137 
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Circulation, 800-258-5485 



Editorial and Business Office: 70 Main Street. Peterborough, New Hampshire 03458. (603) 924-9281. 
West Coast Offices: McGraw-Hill. 425 Battery St.. San Francisco, CA 941 1 I. (415) 362-4600. 

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Officers of McGraw-Hill Information Systems Company: President; Richard B. Miller. Executive Vice Presidents: Frederick P. [annot. Con- 
struction Group. Russell C White. Computers and Communications Group; |, Thomas Ryan. Marketing and International. Senior Vice Presidents; 
Francis A. Shinal. Controller: Robert C Violette. Manufacturing and Technology. Vice Presidents: Fred O. Jensen. Planning and Development: 
Margaret L. Dagner. Human Resources. 
Officers of the Corporation Harold W McGraw. Jr.. Chairman; Joseph L Dionne. President and Chief Executive Officer: Robert N. Landes. Senior 
Vice President and Secretary; Ralph I Webb, Treasurer 



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Inquiry 76 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 



EDITORIAL 



Service and Support 

When computers are working they 
keep us entertained, or at least oc- 
cupied. That's why happy customers 
seldom praise the retail stores and 
mail-order businesses that sold them 
their computer equipment, and why 
we hear much more criticism of com- 
puter dealers. Often retail salespeople 
are decried for knowing little about 
the computers and software they sell 
and mailorder firms for providing less 
customer support than retail stores. 

But the reality varies from store to 
store and transaction to transaction. 
I have had nothing but good experi- 
ences with mail-order companies, in- 
cluding free replacement of 100 flop- 
py disks when three of ten in the first 
box wouldn't format properly I've 
bought software, a modem, a printer, 
and various supplies through phone 
orders to mail-order businesses. 

My experiences in retail stores have 
been mixed. I once heard a salesman 
tell a customer that Pickles and Ttout 
were programming languages (they 
actually were two people who pro- 
duced a version of CP/M for the T&ndy 
Model II). On another occasion the 
sales staff of a retail store refused to 
go through the bother of taking an 
order for VisiCalc or to hold a copy 
for me from the next shipment. I went 
back several times only to find Visi- 
Calc sold out again and no one will- 
ing to take my order. (Finally I bought 
VisiCalc through mail order and had 
no problems.) On the other hand, the 
retail salespeople at the computer 
store where BYTE made some recent 
purchases not only know what they 
are doing but also give technical sup- 
port when things go wrong. 

Street Addresses 

There is room for improvement in 
both mail-order and retail computer 



sales practices. The great concern 
with mail-order businesses is well 
expressed in a letter we received 
from John C Gunn, director of con- 
sumer affairs for Priority One Elec- 
tronics of Chatsworth, California: 
"Although we are primarily an in- 
dustrial distributor, a measurable por- 
tion of our revenue comes from our 
'mail-order' ads. We frequently hear 
horror stories about some poor soul 
who sent his money to a mail drop or 
post office box somewhere. . .and 
never saw any product or a dime of 
his dough. Incidents such as this hurt 
all of us." 

Priority One took an interesting 
practical step to counteract this prob- 
lem. l To assist in protecting unwitting 
consumers from unscrupulous adver- 
tisers," Gunn writes, ,l we lobbied 
strongly for the passage of a bill in- 
troduced by California Assemblyman 
Jack O'Connell. This law requires all 
advertisements in our state to carry 
the street address of the company 
placing the advertisement." We com- 
mend Priority One for its efforts to 
protect the interests of customers of 
mail-order businesses. 

Remote Diagnostics 

The convergence of computer and 
communications technologies offers 
an unprecedented opportunity for im- 
proving customer support. When a 
personal computer is connected to 
the telephone system through a 
modem, and if the operating system 
and hardware are still capable of tak- 
ing input from the serial port, then 
someone at the other end of the 
telephone line should be able to take 
control of the computer and put it 
through a series of diagnostic tests. 
The availability of such remote 
diagnostics would be a great conve- 
nience for computer users, retail 
stores, mail-order businesses, and 



manufacturers. Remote diagnostics 
would be much less expensive than 
shipping costs and would reduce or 
eliminate the problems sometimes 
caused by the consumer's inability to 
describe a problem in a way meaning- 
ful to technicians. Instead of lugging 
the machine back to the store or 
packing it up for shipment, the con- 
sumer could just connect the com- 
puter to the telephone and watch the 
diagnostics at work. In many in- 
stances, the consumer could learn 
what was wrong and how much it 
might cost to fix before sending out 
the equipment. The service or- 
ganization would know what type of 
repair was coming and be prepared 
to fix it. In some cases the machine 
wouldn't have to be sent out at all; 
there could be a software fix or a 
board swap. 

Some companies already furnish 
diagnostic disks. These disks are valu- 
able but because of a lack of infor- 
mation needed to interpret the results 
of the tests, they tend to leave the 
customer poorly informed. Remote 
diagnostics would permit the service 
organization to use additional tests to 
identify the problem more precisely 
and then to tell the customer more 
about the extent of the repairs and 
potential costs. 

Since repair bills can range from 
$75 to more than $1000, mystery 
breeds distrust. Consumers often 
express suspicion about repair costs 
of the automobile and other famil- 
iar machines. Similar feelings of 
distrust about repairs of computer 
equipment could become much more 
pervasive. Remote diagnostics could 
reduce mystery and improve con- 
sumer confidence in the computer in- 
dustry. We hope the use of remote 
diagnostics becomes standard in- 
dustry practice. 

—Phil Lemmons, Editor in Chief 



BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 201 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 7 



Wordstar Wordprocessing and SuperCak 3 Integrated Spreadsheet now included Free with all Seequa computers. 



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To learn more about Seequa or for the location of the Seequa dealer 

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IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 



8 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 277 



MICROBYTES 



Staff-written highlights of late developments in the microcomputer industry. 



CP/M for the Macintosh 

\Q Software, Fort Worth, TX, is selling a version of CP/M-68K for Apple's 128K-byte Macin- 
tosh for $395, including Digital Research's C Compiler and Macro Assembler. CP/M 2.2 
emulation is available for $195 extra but runs only on a 512K-byte Macintosh. A 512K-byte 
Macintosh is also required to access the mouse and pull-down menus. CP/M-68K disks are 
not compatible with other Macintosh disks. 

Superex, Micromax Unveil Macintosh Business Software 

Superex Business Software, Yonkers, NY, announced 25 new products for the Macintosh, 
priced from $20 to $800. The least expensive item is also the only hardware product in- 
troduced: MacSpeak is a $19.95 external speaker. All products should be available this 
month. 

Also included are business programs for cost estimating, time billing, inventory, finance, 
business letters, sales, and wholesaling. A complete accounting package with Accounts 
Payable and Receivable and General Ledger modules is $750. A Home Executive program is 
$90. 

Four engineering packages— for civil, mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineers—are 
$100 each. A MacScience series includes Physics or Chemistry formulas for $100 each. 
Statistics and job-hunting programs were also announced. 

Micromax, San Diego, CA, introduced Gallery, a business-accounting software series. The 
Finance module, which includes General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Receivable, and Cash 
Disbursement, is $795; industry-specific vertical applications are also planned. 

Conetic Introduces Desktop Management Software 

Conetic Systems Inc., San Leandro, CA, introduced Higgins, a specialized relational database 
program for the IBM PC XT or PC AT that includes an appointment calendar, telephone/ad- 
dress file, expense report, and message features. Information entered into the program is 
linked to related files; for example, the telephone directory is checked when an appoint- 
ment is made. Information for up to seven people can be tracked on one computer. A local- 
area-network version that exchanges nonprivate schedule information is also available. The 
single-user version of Higgins is $395. 

Lantech Offers UNIX4ike Operating System for $129 

Lantech Systems Inc., Dallas, TX, announced uNETix 2.0, a multitasking operating system for 
the IBM PC that it says is compatible with AT&T's UNIX operating system but costs just 
$129. Using optional $100 window-management software, PC users can execute up to 10 ap- 
plications concurrently; one of those could be a PC-DOS application running under 
Lantech's $50 PC Emulator. 

While a hard disk is recommended, Lantech says the operating system can run on a two- 
disk system. A separate version of uNETix is available for use in local-area networks. 

Smalltalk for PCs 



Digitalk, Los Angeles, CA, introduced Methods, a SmaIltaIk-80 object-oriented development 
system for the IBM PC. The $250 system includes a compiler, debugger, and text editor; it 
uses a text-based windowing system with pop-up menus. Methods requires an IBM PC with 
512K bytes of RAM and two 360K-byte disk drives. 

Software Systems, San Francisco, CA, is also developing a Smalltalk for the Apple II, with 
later versions planned for 8088- and 68000-based systems. 



{continued) 

FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 9 



MICRO BYTES 



Software Teledelivery Efforts Falter 

At last year's Winter Consumer Electronics Show, several companies announced or dis- 
cussed plans for electronic delivery of software. Some, including Xante, Romox, and Gumma 
Technology, planned to download to erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) 
cartridges at dealer terminals. Others, including Control Videos GameLine and the Nabu 
Networks cable service, downloaded programs directly to computers or video games. 

Xante, Romox, and Gumma have all ceased operations, mainly because of poor dealer 
response and the general collapse of the cartridge video-game market. Nabu's cable-TV- 
based software-downloading service continues to operate in Ottawa, Ontario, despite finan- 
cial troubles. Control Video Corp,, Vienna, VA, said poor distribution and the general video- 
game slump led it to cancel its GameLine service for the Atari 2600 VCS. 

Control Video is now testing a new service which allows subscribers to play 20 games 
available each month as often as they wish for a $14.95 monthly fee, which includes rental 
of a 2000-bps modem from BellSouth. MasterLine is now available for Apple II and Com- 
modore 64 owners in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington, DC. 

Separately, NBC announced that it would cancel the NBC Teletext service in late January. 

NANOBYTES 



Intel introduced the 82588 single-chip local-area-network controller. The 82588 can be used 
in low-cost baseband or broadband networks— including such IEEE 802.3 protocols as IBM's 
PC Network and the developing STARLAN— at speeds up to 2 megabits per second. Initial 
pricing will be $45 each in large quantities. . . . Laserstore, Princeton, NJ. plans to sell a 
2.5-gigabyte write-once optical streaming-tape drive. The drives should be available in large 
quantities in mid-1986 for about $2500. . . , Multi Solutions announced a licensing agree- 
ment with Computer Engineering & Consulting of Tokyo, under which CEC will translate 
Multi Solutions' SI operating system for Japanese computers. Currently, SI runs on several 
68000-based computers and is being translated by MSI for the IBM PC AT The agreement 
guarantees a minimum of $40 million in royalties, according to Multi Solutions. . . . WATCOM 
Products Inc. has released two products developed at the University of Waterloo in 
Canada. WATFILE is a $295 data-management system for the IBM PC; JANET/2 is network- 
ing software for IBM's PC Cluster system. . . . Alphacom announced a 133-character-per- 
second printer at $249 that it says is compatible with Epson's RX-80. . . . Corvus and NEC 
have agreed to jointly develop a single-chip controller for Corvus's Omninet local-area net- 
work. Currently, an Omninet controller requires three chips developed by Corvus. . . . Ad- 
vanced Micro Devices now offers a 10-MHz version of the 80186 processor. . . . Phoenix 
Software, Norwood, MA, has developed an IBM PC XT-compatible ROM BIOS and is 
developing software compatible with IBM's PC AT. Phoenix s earlier IBM PC-compatible 
ROM BIOS code has already been licensed by AT&T, Kaypro, Tandy/Radio Shack, Wyse 
Technology, and Zaisan. . . . Rumors that Tandy would begin selling ACT computers in its 
Radio Shack stores are apparently false. Instead, the two companies announced a joint ven- 
ture to operate a chain of computer stores in Europe, called TA ComputerWorld The stores 

will sell both Tandy and ACT computer products AST Research announced RamStak, a 

memory-expansion board for the Apple Lisa computer. The board can add up to 2 
megabytes of memory to the Lisa; with 512K bytes, it's priced at $1395 Mosaic Elec- 
tronics, Oregon City, OR, announced Access-M, an expansion card for the Commodore 64 
adding up to I megabyte of memory. The standard $195 card includes 64 K bytes of RAM 
and RAM-disk software; additional memory is plugged into the card. . . . PortaAPL, a $275 
APL interpreter for the Macintosh, was introduced by Portable Software, Cambridge, MA. 
PortaAPL adds a full-screen editor and access to many Macintosh ROM toolbox routines to 
the standard APL language but requires a 5I2K-byte Macintosh. . . . C Line Inc., Chicago, IL, 
announced a dBASE II-to-cEnglish converter. The $795 program converts standard dBASE II 
source code into cEnglish, which is then translated by the $900 cEnglish program into C, 
which is in turn compiled into machine language by a C compiler. 



10 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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DPF012BY 
2764-08 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE II 



Slide Cat from kodak introduces: 

THE CAT QUICK 

SLIDE MAKERS 

THAT WILL 



YOU GRIN. 





©EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, 1984 



"Now you can make presentation- 
quality instant slides from CRT 
screens, one at a time. Slides that 
integrate beautifully into the rest 
of your show. It's like having your 
own instant slide department. And 
you don't have to be an audio- 
visual professional to do it. 

"Kodak's new cat- 
quick slide-makers are 
a versatile group of 



KODAK 

isstagraphm; 
Copy Stand 

Use this well designed unit to make slides of 
pictures, printed material, and artwork up to 
It" x 17". Or small, three-dimensional objects. 
Right in your office, In ordinary room light. 



state-of-the-art products designed 
to convert computer-generated 
material into slides, fast! 

"With our new imager, you can 
make instant slides (or prints) 
from just about any data that 
appears on your CRT screen.. .pie 
charts, bar charts, organization 
charts, etc. And you can use just 
about any size terminal — 9-, 12-, 
13-, even 19-inch screens. Direct 

Inquiry 345 



Turn CRT Data 
Into A Slide, Cat-Quick 





KODAK 

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Contains KODAK 
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Module, and KODAK 
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appropriate CRT 
adapter to make 
instant presentation 
quality slides that 
integrate beautifully 
into the rest of your 
show. There's even an 
optional module that lets you make prints. 



conversion from CRT to 
slide can save you time, 
and money! For slides 
from hard copy use our 
sleek copy 

stand. Both methods 
are easy and affordable. 
"Your options are many. You 
can buy one product, or the entire 
line. Make a single slide or 
an entire presentation. Prove 
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Even use our camera back, module, 
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recorders! And get results that 
make a grin begin. 




KODAK CRT Adapters 

Make an instant slide or print 

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□ Please have a representative call me. A8071 

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KODAK WSJAGRAPHiC Color Slide Film 

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Film and substitute the KODAK INSTAGRAPHIC 
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FEBRUARY 1985 • B YTE 13 



LETTERS 



CP/M Plus for the Model 4 

Editor's note: \n the following sequence of letters, 
reader William F Crowell addresses Tandy Cor- 
poration Chairman \ohn Roach, BYTE [having 
received a copy of Crowell' s letter) responds to 
Crowell, and David Krebhs of Tandy replies to 
Crowell. 

Dear Mr. Roach, 

1 am a longtime computer customer of 
Tandy Corporation. I presently own two 
Model Is. a Model 4. and a Model 4R For 
over 18 months now, since it was first an- 
nounced, 1 have been waiting to receive 
a working version of Model 4 CP/M Plus. 

First, 1 had to wait 1 3 months after Tandy 
announced the product before it was even 
released. (However, this didn't stop Tandy 
from advertising the product as available 
during this entire period of time, presum- 
ably to sell more Model 4s to customers 
who want to run CP/M Plus.) 1 immediate- 
ly bought a copy. As you know, however, 
the original release was full of bugs. 

I volunteered to beta-test the new 
preliminary version 1.1, which I did. I im- 
mediately discovered that random access 
failed miserably. Then I observed from the 
source code, RANDOM. ASM, that virtual- 
ly nothing had been done to implement ran- 
dom access on the Model 4 hardware en- 
vironment. 

Tandy calls this an operating system? 
How could the company even release it 
in the first place without random access? 
Also, the BIOS is supposed to emulate a 
DEC VT-52 terminal, but it doesn't. Many 
of the VT-52 control codes don't work. Fur- 
ther, the promised CBAS1C has never been 
released, and there is no release date that 
I am aware of. 

How is it that Tandy is able to release 
so much other TRS-DOS software, but it 
takes over 1 7 months now to merely write 
a correct BIOS for CP/M Plus? This rather 
obviously represents a violation of the 
antitrust laws. 

Why haven't the popular magazines 
reported this irresponsible and reprehen- 
sible conduct by Tandy? Are they afraid 
of losing your advertising? 

You are hereby placed on notice that I 
will attempt to file a class-action suit 
against Tandy Corporation for consumer 



fraud, breach of contract, antitrust, and 
possibly other causes of action unless 
working versions of CP/M Plus and CBASIC 
are available for purchase and the work- 
ing version of CP/M Plus is provided to 
purchasers of the original version within 
30 days of this date. 

I am sorry to take such an unfriendly 
tone in this letter, but apparently threats 
of legal action are the only thing that 
Tandy understands. 

William F. Crowell 

Attorney 

Oakland, CA 

BYTE replies: 

We called Mark Yamagata of Tandy re- 
garding CP/M Plus for the Model 4. Mr. 
Yamagata quickly admitted that there 
were bugs in the product He added that 
the new version was almost ready but 
that one more bug had to be worked out. 
He said the new version would be avail- 
able by the end of October. He also said 
that ail registered users would be advised 
of the new version, which will be avail- 
able to them at no charge. We hope the 
new version solves the problems you ve 
encountered with CP/M Pius; if not, or if 
Tandy fails to ship the new version, 
please let us know so we can report on it. 

As to magazine policies on publishing 
letters to the editor, we receive far more 
letters than we can publish. We try to 
choose those of greatest interest to the 
greatest number of readers. When we 
receive copies of complaints like yours, 
we generally call the company involved 
and try to obtain information about how 
the problem can be solved. If a solution 
appears imminent we call the author of 
the letter and inform him or her By the 
time we could publish the letter, the 
reason for the complaint will have dis- 
appeared. 

In this case, the solution appears to 
have been "imminent" for a long time. 
We hope that CP/M Plus is now fully func- 
tional on the Model 4. 

Tandy replies: 

Dear Mr. Crowell, 

I regret your problems with Model 4 
CP/M Plus, but I can do no more than to 



repeat some of the points that I men- 
tioned during our previous telephone 
conversations. You are correct in observ- 
ing that Model 4 CP/M Plus got onto the 
market later than we originally intended 
and that the initial release had bugs. This, 
as you know, is not at all unusual with 
software. Virtually all software packages 
do contain bugs when they are first 
released, and these bugs are subse- 
quently removed as later versions of the 
software packages come into the market. 

From your letter I infer that you do not 
regard the version of Model 4 CP/M Plus 
that we are now selling as a ' working ver- 
sion." I must respectfully disagree. It is 
the position of Tandy Corporation that 
our Model 4 CP/M Plus software package 
is quite adequate for the purposes for 
which it is intended, and retail sales to 
date, as well as user feedback, indicate 
that the public agrees with us. I am sorry 
if this particular software package is not 
suitable to you in some way or ways, but 
you will understand, I trust, that it is not 
possible for us to design our products so 
that they are perfectly acceptable in 
every respect to every single member of 
the buying public. 

Regarding your comments on the 
VT-52, please note that the first release 
of the Model 4 CP/M Plus manual did 
contain errors on the decimal values 
assigned to the VT-52 emulation codes. 
The correct codes have been sent to you 
by Mr. James Brown, of this office, and 
a Publication Change Notice has been 
submitted for future editions of the 
manual. You will find that the VT-52 con- 
trol codes will work correctly with the in- 
formation that Mr Brown sent to you. 

{continued) 



LETTERS POLICY: To be considered for pub- 
lication, a letter must be typed double-spaced on 
one side of the paper and must include your name 
and address. Comments and ideas should be ex- 
pressed as clearly and concisely as possible. 
Listings and tables may be printed along with 
a letter if they are short and legible 

Because BYTE receives hundreds of letters each 
month, not all of them can be published, letters 
will not be returned to authors. Generally, it takes 
four months from the time BYTE receives a let- 
ter until it is published. 



14 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




Portable 




Backup! 





LETTERS 





A New To 






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^tMS/C,s 26-2217 ^ for Model d 

TnlZ St ° res ^^^ 
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Although written by financial professionals to the exacting 
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R»E»A*P™ forecasts expense, loan, tax, and depreciation da 
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Allows ail data categories to be altered and recalculated 

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rinted Reports: 

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Calculated value of investment I Net equity analysis 



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FEBRUARY 



Inquiry 55 



e P^ducts and 
(continued) 



What every Apple owner 
should know about 

WORD 

juggler: 






If you own an Apple He or He — or you're planning 
buy one — here are a few things you should know about 
Quark's Word Juggler word processor. 



to 



- 



First of all, Word Juggler is the only word processor that 
ives you a powerful spelling checker and a built-in telecom- 
munications feature. So you can create a document — check 
it for spelling errors — and then send it via electronic mail. All 
with just one program. 



' 



Plus, Word Juggler is the most easy-to-use, professional 
word processor you can buy for your Apple. Virtually every 
function — even complicated "cut-and-paste" tasks — can be 
accomplished with a single keystroke. 

There's nothing to memorize, either. Because Word 
Juggler comes with replacement keycaps — and a special 
keyboard template — which identify principal editing and 
formatting commands. So you can focus your efforts on 
using the program, not learning it. 

Fact is, no other word processor for your Apple He or 
He gives you this unique combination of power, functionality 
and ease of use. And if all these advantages aren't compelling 
enough, check the price. Suggested retail is only $189. 



So visit your favorite dealer today. Ask for a complete 
demonstration — and for a copy of our brochure, "What 
Every Apple Owner Should Know About Word Juggler." If 
you don't have a favorite dealer, but would like one, just call 
(800) 543-7711. We'll fix you up. 



** 



#* li 



Quark 

liMBH^ INCORPORATED 



2525 West Evans, Suite 220 
Denver CO 802 19 



Inquiry 264 



Quark and Word Juggler are trademarks of Quark Incorporated. Apple is a 
registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. 



Ask about our specially-priced educational version. 



Copyright 1 985. Quark Incorporated 





Photography by Barbara Kasten 



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Toolbox 49 40 

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Rags to Riches Ledger 99 79 

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Condor 3 650 249 

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Footnote 99 84 

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Notebook 1 50 98 

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Money Track 295 219 

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Norton Utilities 100 65 

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Select Word Processor 295 199 

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SuperCalc2 295 154 

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LETTERS 



determine if they will satisfy your needs. 
I try to study a product as much as I can 
from reviews in the trade publications. I 
then select one or two similar packages 
and attempt to find people who are using 
them. I obtain a copy (or the original) and 
the product's documentation, and I try the 
package out for a month or so. If I like the 
product, I then purchase a "legitimate" 
version of it, or else I erase my copy or 
return it to the lender. In this respect I atn 
probably more ethical than most in that 
I will buy a legitimate copy of any software 
that 1 intend to use on my machine for any 
length of time after I have already ob- 
tained a pirated version of it. 

I seek only to protect my investment, 
and 1 will discontinue this practice when 
I can obtain a full-function demonstration 
disk of a package that I intend to purchase. 
1 somehow expect that quite a number of 
software vendors would be opposed to a 
30-day trial arrangement because their 
products wouldn't stand up to head-to- 
head competition. 

Name and address withheld 

No Support from Apple 

I would like to confirm the lack of available 
Apple documentation noted in Dennis 
Doms's letter ("A Call for Better Apple Sup- 
port," September 1984, page 14}. 

After purchasing an Apple He in May to 
complement my He while I was traveling, 
I was immediately confronted with a lack 
of technical details needed to connect my 
"non-Apple" peripherals to the He. What 
are the pin connections on the serial 
ports? What are the memory locations 
that control baud rate, characters per line, 
ACIA status, etc? 

Since I travel extensively 1 thought I 
could pick up the Apple Ik Reference Manual 
in one of the many authorized Apple 
dealers I visit when out of town. After 
visiting over 30 stores in New York, New 
Jersey southern California, and Oregon, 
I have been unable to find the reference 
manual. 

I hope that letters like Dennis s and mine 
will stir Apple into getting the publications 
into the hands of the thousands of Apple 
users who want to know all there is to 
know about one of the most revolutionary 
products of our times. 

George W Ziegler, Jr. 
Mahwah, NJ 

I read with interest Dennis Doms's letter 
describing his problems obtaining Apple 
documentation. 

{continued) 



18 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 110 



And you thought there was only 
one "Graphics Card'.' 




Now you have a choice for bit- 
mapped graphics. Priced at $399— 
$100 less than what you'd expect 
—AST's Preview! brings high resolu- 
tion bit-mapped graphics and clear, 
crisp text to your IBM® PC, XT or AT 
monochrome screen. And there's 
no standard like AST quality 

Preview! provides all the features 
and functions you'd expect, like 
bit-map addressing the maximum 
supported 720 horizontal pixels 
by 348 vertical lines for two pages of 
full-screen high resolution graphics, 
an IBM PC-compatible parallel printer 
port and Hercules™ bit-mapped 
graphics card compatibility. 

It works with all kinds of soft- 
ware too, no other card offers more. 
New generation integrated business 
programs, bit-mapped text process- 
ing and advanced windowing appli- 
cations are specialties. 

Then there's the nonstandard fea- 
tures AST is famous for— consistent 
quality, reliability, comprehen- 
sive documentation, service, support 
and extra value. We include our 



SuperPak™ RAM disk simu- 
lator and printer spooler 
utility diskette. Judged by PC 
WORLD readers as a World 
Class Winner for the past two 
years, it's worth $45 by itself. 

The leadership strength that 
makes our consistent quality so 
affordable is carried throughout 
our complete line of PC enhance- 
ment products. We offer a family of 
graphics products which provide 
a variety of features from serial ports 
to expansion memory, as well as 
multifunction boards, micro-to- 
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So you can settle for the com- 
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hope for the best. Or you can pay 
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best— Preview! only from AST For 
more information and dealer loca- 
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Or write, AST Research, Inc., 2121 
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T^ FEATURES 


64K Screen Memory 


• Standard IBM Charac- 


Two Pages of High 
Resolution 720 Hori- 
zontal PELS by 348 
Vertical Line Bit- 
Mapped Monochrome 
Graphics 


ter Set 

• Compatible With 
Popular Bit-Mapped 
Graphics, Text and 
Windowing Applica- 
tions Software 


80 Character By 
25 Line IBM PC- 
Compatible Text 
Display 


• Parallel Printer Port 

• SuperPak Utility 
Diskette 

• Hercules Compatible 



Preview! and SuperPak trademarks of AST Research, 
inc. IBM trademark of International Business Ma- 
chines Corp. Hercules Graphics Card trademark of 
Hercules Computer Technology. Lotus 1-2-3 and 
Symphony trademarks of Lotus Development Corp. 
Framework trademark of AshtonTate . Word trade- 
mark of Microsoft, Inc. MetaWINDOW trademark 
ofMetagraphis 



Inquiry 5 for Dealers. 
Inquiry 6 for End-Users. 





ft€S€ARCH INC. 



Available for the IBM PC, AT, XT, jr.* and true compatibles 

CLEAR THE DESK, 

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C 



Here's Sidekick in action. That's Lotus 1-2-3 running under- 
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imported from the Lotus screen. On the upper right, that's the 
Sidekick Calculator. 



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Whenever you're using your computer . . . from start to finish 
of your session . . . Sidekick™ will be there . . . ready to serve. And it's 
as lightning-fast and compact as only Borland knows how to make it. 

There's a notepad that has a M-screen editor that can time and 
date stamp your notes, and then save them to disk You can even pull 
information into the notepad directly from the screen of your "underlying" 
software. 

Suppose you're working in Lotus and the phone suddenly rings. 
Give your Sidekick a call and it pops right up over Lotus with the notepad 
you need. Or an appointment calendar . . . one you can never misplace. 

What if you need to do a quick calculation? A keystroke instantly 
brings up the calculator. And the results of your calculations can even be 
transferred to your "underlying" software. 

Need to make a phone caU? Up pops your personal phone directory. 
Type in the name you want ... and Sidekick jumps right to the phone 
number. Another keystroke, and the phone is automatically dialed for you. f 

There's lots more, too. You can move the Sidekick windows 
anywhere on the screen you like. And you can have as many on screen at 
a time as you need. There's even an on-line help window for each of 
Sidekick's features. 

We designed it because we needed it. If you've ever been writing 
a report and needed to do a quick calculation, or jot down a note, then 
you need Sidekick, too. 

\Onty with Hayes Smartmoaem and compatibles. 



GOT YOUR SIDEKICK YET? 

SIDEKICK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR NEAREST SOFTWARE DEALER, OR DIRECT FROM BORLAND. 

For VISA and MasterCard orders, call 1(800) 255-8008: in California call (800) 742-1133. 

Lines are open 24 hours a dav. ~ davs a week. 

Inquiry 33 



S54.95SideKick 

copy-protected 

S84.95 SideKick 

noncopy-protected 

(Prices include SS shipping and handling per order. ) 



Please be sure your system is an IBM PC, AT, XT jr. or a true PC- 
compatible. PCjr, users must order noncopy-protected version. 

NAME 



ADDRESS 



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Borland International 
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Scotts Valley, California 95066 
TELEX: 172373 



LETTERS 



After several years of CP/M experience 
I purchased an Apple lie in May. I have 
written and phoned Apple in Cupertino, 
the Apple distributor in Charlotte, and two 
Apple dealers. The response I have got- 
ten is difficult to accept. Based on the in- 
formation I have to date the Apple lie 
Technical Manual. ProDOS Technical Manual, 
Pro DOS Users Kit, and Applesoft Technical 
Manual volumes 1 and 2 are unavailable 
and there is no official date for delivery. 

My choice of the lie was based on the 
promise of true portability by the end of 
1984, The present availability of carrying 
cases and portable power supplies 
coupled with the continued assurance, by 
Apple of the flat-screen display in 1984 
will provide the hardware I expected when 
I chose the lie. The total lack of technical 
information for the He and the operating 
system will make software development 
almost impossible. 

Don Overton 
Atlanta, CA 

I found the letter by Dennis Doms con- 
cerning the lack of technical support by 
Apple for its new ProDOS System very 
true. 1 am one of those newcomers to 
computers. It is indeed a nightmare try- 
ing to make sense out of Apple ProDOS 
from the scant instructions supplied with 
the Apple lie. 

For months 1 have been trying to buy 
several of Apple's manuals on ProDOS. 
especially BASIC Programming with ProDOS. 
The authorized Apple dealer has no idea 
when his shipment will come in. 

In my opinion any machine, no matter 
how excellent it may be is no better than 
the instructions that teach the operator 
how to use it. It seems a pity that a com- 
pany that can spit out machines at such 
a terrific rate cannot supply the bare tools 
the operator needs to operate that 
machine. Imagine that same company's 
concern if, when its new production line 
was ready to roll, it found it had few in- 
structions on how to operate it. 

David D. Perry 
Ridgecrest, CA 

Take Back Your Mac 

I am outraged. Apple's original descrip- 
tions of the Macintosh, as quoted in the 
press, made it clear that the Macintosh 
was a 5 1 2K system that was being released 
in a temporary 128K version due to 
failures on the part of Apple's suppliers. 
Now we are told (in defiance of the ex- 
perience of any user of the machine) that 
the 128K Macintosh is a useful computer 



and will continue to be sold at the original 
price while a 5I2K version will cost $1000 
more. What's more any purchaser of the 
earlier 128K machine who desires to up- 
grade to 512K must pay the $1000 dif- 
ference in price. This policy is as blatantly 
unscrupulous a case of bait-and-switch as 
was ever practiced. 

As a professional programmer. 1 was in- 
trigued and excited by the concept of the 
Macintosh and eagerly awaited the release 
of the real, 512K. machine As a consumer, 
I am disgusted by Apple's business prac- 
tices and have no intention of throwing 
good money after bad. I am especially 
frustrated by this decision of Apple's, since 
I am sure that it will strangle the Macin- 
tosh in its cradle, and so my already sub- 
stantial investment in the machine will 
have been for nothing. 

Kirk Rader 
Los Angeles, CA 

I openly plead for a programmer or pro- 
gramming team somewhere to develop 
RAM-disk software to use the 512K RAM 
on the "fat Mac'' as a RAM disk as well 
as for memory. 

A logical configuration to emulate the 
128K Mac would be 128K memory with 
a 384K RAM disk. Later, variable options 
of more memory and less RAM would be 
nice, but they are not essential initially. 
Good programs like Microsoft Word can 
use disk I/O to make files larger than 
memory and would not be limited by the 
main-memory constraint, but rather only 
by the RAM-disk memory constraint. 

Such a RAM disk must permit copying 
data to and from it, programs to and from 
it, and opening it. So designed, the system 
and major programs that use disk overlays 
could be loaded into RAM, with conse- 
quent lightning-speed operation. I believe 
such software is essential for the Mac to 
appeal to business. It would also make 
software development itself easier and 
faster. 

I've checked, and apparently Apple's 
own programming philosophy is opposed 
to this concept. If someone does do this. 
I hope he or she sells it for a reasonable 
price {$50 or less) or else releases it ac- 
cessibly into the public domain. Without 
such a development, my company will 
probably never buy a Mac and will prob- 
ably never develop software for it. 

Don Slaughter 

MicroCost Software 

Seattle, WA 

Perhaps two of the most often used words 
throughout articles dealing with the 



Macintosh are "potential" and "wait." The 
Macintosh was introduced over nine 
months ago, and still there is a lack of 
varied and practical software available for 
the computer. On the day of its introduc- 
tion Apple announced that "hundreds" of 
software companies had already had the 
Macintosh for up to two years. Software 
for the machine would be available in a 
torrential flood in a matter of weeks. Nine 
months later a real word processor (i.e., 
capable of handling more than eight or 
nine pages) is still not available, nor can 
I find a spelling checker, a true database 
manager, or a high-level language. If soft- 
ware companies have had over two years 
to work on their products and still have 
not fully developed what could be con- 
sidered "standard" software products, just 
how long is the Macintosh software-devel- 
opment cycle? Is Apple truly supporting 
its software developers? 

Added to the problem of third-party 
software is the lack of support software 
from Apple itself. Nine months after the 
computer was introduced, an assembler 
has not even been made available, nor is 
a communication program like MacTerm 
available yet. Neither of these programs 
is particularly tricky to write, and, in fact, 
Apple must have had a 68000 assembler 
in house for quite a while (rehosting an 
assembler from the Lisa to the Macintosh 
takes over nine months?). 

Many trade magazines and journals ap- 
parently wonder about these same prob- 
lems. Often an attempt is made to ra- 
tionalize Apple's tardiness and lack of sup- 
port. The most common story is: "The 
Macintosh is a radically new computer re- 
quiring programmers to adapt to a com- 
pletely different kind of style and besides. 
128K of memory makes for a tight 
squeeze on programs. When the 5I2K 
Macintosh is available, all kinds of fancy 
programs will appear and life will be 
wonderful again." 

Well, the 512K Macintosh was recently 
announced. Now I can easily find several 
stores advertising the 128K Macintosh for 
$1600 and the 512K Macintosh for $2400. 
Yet Apple wants the people who have 
already paid $2 500 to fork over another 
$995 for the 512K upgrade. The entire 
computer obviously costs far less than 
$1000 to make since that is the price the 
university consortium schools pay, and 
you can be certain that Apple is not so 
dedicated to education that it would pass 
up this additional source of profit. 

If 1 28K is such a burden on software de- 
velopers, why wasn't the computer re- 
leased after the expanded memory was 



22 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



LETTERS 



available? This would have given devel- 
opers more time to work on their software 
as well. If Apple felt it just had to be in 
the market with a machine like the 128K 
Macintosh, why was it priced so high? At 
least Apple could have promised all the 
early purchasers a fair price (or even no 
cost) on the upgrade. 

I truly feel that Apple has treated its 
customers unfairly and with a certain 
amount of contempt. Prior to owning any 
Apple product 1 had a great deal of trust 
and respect for the company In fact, it was 
that trust and respect that convinced me 
to buy a Macintosh even though I was 
aware of its limitations. I felt certain that 
Apple would take care of its customers. 
However, since buying a Macintosh, that 
trust and respect has gone. Even though 
I could recommend no alternative, I would 
not advise anybody to buy a Macintosh. 
Instead, I would recommend waiting un- 
til Apple straightens up or until another 
company recognizes the void and fills it. 

R.S. LUEBKEMAN 

Rancho Cucamonga, CA 

Choosing a 
Campus Computer 

We have recently undertaken a project to 
introduce the use of microcomputers in 
the junior/senior Physical Chemistry 
course at the University of Florida. Al- 
though the students are reasonably 
mature and mathematically sophisticated, 
they have shown a surprising reluctance 
to "get their feet wet" via hands-on work 
with the microcomputers available for the 
course (six Sanyo MBC 55 5 units, chosen 
for their low price reasonably good 
graphics, and ability to use the 8087 math 
coprocessor). 

There are several problems in introduc- 
ing a microcomputer course as described 
above at a large state institution such as 
the University of Florida (3 5,000 students), 
where no requirement exists that students 
purchase a microcomputer (not to men- 
tion a specific brand of microcomputer). 
Even if money were available to fund pur- 
chase of sufficient machines to handle ap- 
proximately 4000 technical students per 
year, along with space to house them, 
there remains the possible objection that 
the entire enterprise would be at least 
"type-specific." Thus we might select MS- 
DOS, Microsoft BASIC, and WordStar, 
which would slant the situation toward 
IBM PCs and/or compatibles. This might 
lead to a loud chorus of objections from 
Macintosh supporters, for example. 

{continued) 



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Inquiry 29 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 



LETTERS 



While some may disagree. I feel that the 
situation is more acceptable if reasonable 
alternate-brand selections do exist, such 
as the IBM PC Seequa Chameleon. Eagle 
Zenith 1 50. Tava. Tandy 2000. etc. How- 
ever, selection of a unique machine such 
as the Macintosh is virtually an endorse- 
ment of a specific brand rather than type. 
to the exclusion of all others. 

I would be interested in hearing from 



others concerning this dilemma. Please 

write to me at the Chemistry Department. 

University of Florida. Gainesville. FL 32611. 

Robert ). Hanrahan 

Gainesville. FL 

Icons Are Arcane 

Circa 5000 years ago. writing was invented 
in ancient Mesopotamia. This earliest 



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iSS 









known script, cuneiform, was derived from 
pictographic symbols that became stylized 
and standardized in form. Eventually it 
became mixed with phonetic elements un- 
til it was almost entirely phonetic. Our 
alphabet is most probably ultimately 
derived from ancient Egyptian— also 
originally a pictographic system. The point 
is this: Over thousands of years a phonetic 
and finally alphabetic system was devel- 
oped. To anyone who has gone through 
the painful process of learning cuneiform 
or Egyptian, the superiority of the 
alphabet is readily apparent. A picto- 
graphic system (Apple's "icons") requires 
that the user learn many, many symbols. 
My contention is that though users may 
find icons more "user friendly," ultimate- 
ly, as systems and software become more 
complex, the icon system will become 
more unwieldy and arcane than present 
systems. 

As a humanist who uses computers ex- 
tensively in my work. I would like to see 
user interfaces developed for micros that 
are faster, more streamlined ("elegant"), 
and smarter ("knowledge-based") to aid 
in the learning process. It doesn't take the 
uninitiated user long to grow impatient 
with the Mac. 

Ann Marchant 
Berkeley, CA 

Bravo, Borland! 

This is the kind of letter I would like to be 
able to write more often. It's about the 
people at Borland International, who 
distribute Turbo Pascal and, if we are lucky, 
a lot of other programs. 

I've already spoken to Borland's pro- 
grammers about a problem, and with a 
completely satisfactory result. The latest 
event was my ordering of the Commodore 
64 CP/M version of Tlirbo Pascal. When it 
arrived, it was an MS-DOS disk, which I 
couldn't use. I scribbled a note on the in- 
voice and mailed the whole package back 
the same day. the same way it arrived, at 
a cost of about a dollar in postage. 

Today the United Parcel Service truck 
pulled up and delivered the correct 
replacement package— Second Day Air. It 
cost Borland $4. That is class. 

William T. Powers 
Northbrook. IL 

Sage Defended 

I wish to respond to Dr. Richard Peskin's 
appraisal of Sage computers ("A Second 
Opinion on the Sage," September 1984, 

[continued] 



24 BYTE • FEBRUARY I985 



Inquiry 147 



^^R^^H^|HHHI v jp.M.r » , , . , i /".ifPIH^. 




Introducing the Hercules Graphics Card 
for the technical user. 



OK. We confess. The 
Hercules Graphics Card in 
the picture above isn't a 
special version for the tech- 
nical user. 

In fact, it's exactly 
the same as the standard 
Hercules Graphics Card 
running programs like 1-2-3™ 
and Symphony™ in more 
than 100,000 IBM® PCs. 

We just wanted to make 
the point that the Hercules 
Graphics Card is not only 
big with business users— it's 
also the most popular high 
resolution graphics card for 
the technical user. 

Why? We run more 
software than anyone else. 

The Hercules Graphics 
Card is supported by more 
technical software than any 
other hi-res graphics card. 

There a re word proc- 
essors that 
can produce 
publication 
quality documents with 
mathematical formulas. 

There are programs 
that enable your PC to 
emulate a graphics terminal 



w\ **?**** 




and run mainframe graphics 
software. 

There are toolkits of 
graphics utilities that can be 
linked to popular program- 
ming languages. 

There are CAD pro- 
grams that can provide 
features normally associated 
with $50,000 systems. 

And we supply free 
software with 
each card to do 
hi-res graphics 
with the PC's 
BASIC. No one else does. 

Hardware that set the 
high performance standard. 

When we introduced the 
Hercules Graphics Card in 
August, 1982, it set the 
standard for high resolution 
graphics on the PC. 

But we didn't stop there. 
In the past two years, we've 
continually refined the 
original design. 

Tbday's Graphics Card 
gives you two graphics 
pages, each with a resolu- 
tion of 720h x 348v, and a 
parallel printer port- 
standard. 




A 2K static RAM buffer 
elegantly eliminates scrolling 
flicker. And our exclusive 
safety switch helps prevent 
damage to your monitor. 

Convinced? Good. Now, 
how about a little color? 

Should you want IBM 
compatible 
color graphics 
for your sys- 
tem, then the 
new Hercules Color Card is 
the smart way to go. 

It gives you a parallel 
printer port and a size small 
enough to fit in one of the 
XT's or Portable's short slots. 

And both Hercules 
cards are compatible with 
the new AT™ and backed by 
our two year warranty. 

Call 800 255-5550 Ext 
408 for the name of the 
Hercules dealer nearest you 
and we'll rush you a free info 
kit. See why the company 
that made the first graphics 
card for the IBM PC still 
makes the best. 

Hercules. 

We're strong on graphics. 



Address: Hercules, 2550 Ninth St., Berkeley, CA 94710 Ph: 415 540-6000 Telex: 754063 Trademarks/Owners: Hercules/Hercules Computer Technology, 1-2-3, 
Symphony/ Lotus Development; IBM, AT/ International Business Machines 



Inquiry 135 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 25 



LETTERS 



page 18) as lacking "many architectural 
features needed for multiuser, multitask- 
ing applications.'' This is a gross distortion 
of the facts, since, from the beginning. 
Sage has supplied an excellent multiuser 
BIOS capable of supporting not only 
multiple users but multiple operating sys- 
tems running simultaneously. I know of no 
other supermicro that can make this claim. 
Even single-user operating systems such 
as Softech's UCSD p-System appear to be 
multiuser on the Sage as multiple copies 
are run in memory partitions isolated by 
the Sage MU BIOS. The BIOS allows easy 
configuration of each user's time slice and 
priority, flexible mapping of RAM disks 
(yes, more than one!}, memory and disk 
partitions, and serial ports and peripheral 
devices. Different operating systems may 
be allowed access to shared disk space. 
At last count, at least 1 1 operating sys- 
tems are supported, including CP/M 68K. 
Volition's Modula-2 system, HyperFORTH. 
and Whitesmiths's UNIX-like multiuser 
Idris. The Idris implementation currently 
available was ported to the Sage by Rakon, 
an Australian company Rakon's version re- 



portedly runs 2.5 to 5 times faster on the 
same hardware as Logos Information Sys- 
tems' (Dr. Peskin's firm). In this light. Dr. 
Peskin's opinion about Sage can hardly be 
characterized as "objective technical 
assessment'' 

The new products announced in 
September by Sage (now Stride Micro) will 
have a hardware memory-management 
option to support UNIX System V with 
Berkeley enhancements. They also run 
faster (10 MHz standard, 12 MHz optional). 
support hardware floating point, utilize the 
industry standard VME bus, come stan- 
dard with Omninet networking hardware, 
and are even lower in cost. 

Jai Gopal Singh Khalsa 
Millis, MA 

Improving the 
IBM Keyboard 

Where 1 work we have IBM PCs and XTs 
in abundance. People are always griping 
about the poorly designed keyboard, i.e.. 
the long reach to the Return key and the 
dual-function 1 0-key pad/cursor controls 



that perform only one of their roles at a 
time. The complaints peaked around 
budget time, when data entry to spread- 
sheets became a paramount hassle. We 
found a partial remedy, however Instead 
of switching between the 10-key pad and 
the cursor controls by using the Num Lock 
key, we found it easier to divide the labor 
between our two hands by locking in the 
10-key pad for data entry and then, to 
move to another cell, holding the left shift 
key down with our left hands and moving 
the cursor with the 10-key pad that then 
functions as a cursor control. 

Granted, this is not a perfect solution, 
but the roar did quiet. Now we'd like to 
know how to solve the problem of the 
reach to the Return key. 

W. TkAvis Good 
Summit, NJ 

Software Swapping 

In response to "Dear Thieves" (August 
1984. page 18), William Wright has ex- 
pressed the opinion that it is entirely 

[continued) 




PSpice. 

The circuit simulator that 
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Now the industry-standard Spice, minus Spice's original 
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without having to build it. Design and check in 20 minutes 
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Re-work. Without the worry that someone's waiting for 
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• AC, DC and Transient Analysis 

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• One-fifth the speed of VAX-11/780 

• Affordably priced at $950 (Quantity price breaks) 




MicroSim' s Probe is an interactive, comprehensive graphics post 
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VAX is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation. 

IBM-PC is a trademark of International Business Machine Corporation 



26 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 217 for Dealers. Inquiry 218 for End-Users. 



Apple Owners: Increase your Display up to 455% and 

Get The Big Picture! 




You know the importance of "Bottom Line" and cash-flow 
management in your daily operations. Original 40-column 
spreadsheets were adequate, 80-column spreadsheets 
were better, but even with 80-columns you still waste 
valuable time scrolling your spreadsheet searching for 
data. The Videx UltraTerm will provide you the tool you 
need to reduce wasteful searching, and free up your time 
to make important business decisions. 

Just look at the actual display photo above. The dark 
green portion of the spreadsheet represents the amount 
of information you get with a standard Apple display. The 
medium green area shows you what you get with ordinary 
80-column displays. Nice. But not enough. With UltraTerm, 
your business "Big Picture" is exploded up to a full 
128-columns by 32-lines (as shown by entire photo above), 
or 455% more data than you've previously had to work 
with. 



UltraTerm is a trademark of Videx. Inc. Apple is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. 
Visicalc is a trademark of VisiCorp, Inc. 

1 . Except colors which were added for illustrative purposes only. 

2. Assuming VisiCalc and Apple 40x24 display. Inquiry 324 



In addition to the obvious benefits of using the UltraTerm 
with your spreadsheet, you can gain depth, breadth, and 
power when using the new generation of word processors 
that exploit the UltraTerm's vast array of display 
capabilities. Word processors that currently use 
UltraTerm's expanded display formats include WORD- 
STAR, Word Juggler //e, Letter Perfect, Executive 
Secretary, Apple Writer II (with Videx Preboot), and Write 
Away. 

So, contact your local computer dealer today! If they are 
out of stock you can call Videx directly. Get THE BIG PIC- 
TURE today! 



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TURBO is much better than the 
Pascal IBM sells." 

Jerry Pournelle, 
Byte. July 1984 

"TURBO PASCAL appears to violate 
the laws of thermodynamics. 

You won't find a comparable price/ 
performance package anywhere. It 
is simply put. the best software deal 
to come along in a long time. If you 
have the slightest interest in 
Pascal. . .buy it." 

Bruce Webster. 
Softalk IBM: March 1984 



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Commented source code on disk 

• Optional 8087 support available for a small additional charge 

NEW! TURBO TOOLBOX (reg. $49.95). A set of three fundamental 
utilities that work in conjunction with TURBO PASCAL. Includes: 

• TURBO-ISAM FILES USING B + TREES. Commented source code on disk 

• QUIKSORT ON DISK. Commented source code on disk 

• GINST (General Installation Program) 

.Provides those programs written in TURBO PASCAL with a terminal installation module 
just like TURBO'S! 

• NOW INCLUDES FREE SAMPLE DATABASE . . . right on the disk! Just compile 
it, and it's ready to go to work for you. It's a great example of how to use TURBO 
TOOLBOX ana, at the same time, it's a working piece of software you can use 
right away! 

NEW! TURBO TUTOR (reg. $29.95). Teaches step by step how to use the TURBO 
PASCAL development environment— an ideal introduction for basic programmers. 
Commented source code for all program examples on disk. 

50 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE Available at your nearest software dealer. 

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Card #j 

My system is: 8 bit 16 bit . 

Operating System: CP/M 80 

Computer: 



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Inquiry 101 




Eco-C Compiler 

Release 3.0 

We think Rel. 3.0 of the Eco-C Compiler is the 
fastest full C available for the Z80 environment. 
Consider the evidence: 

Benchmarks* 

(Seconds) 



Benchmark 


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Aztec 


Q/C 


Setve 


29 


33 


40 


F\b 


75 


125 


m 


Deref 


19 


CMC 


31 


Matmuti 


42 


115 


N/A 



*Times courtesy of Dr David Clark 
CNC - Could Not Compile 
N/A - Does not support floating point 

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LETTERS 



wrong and dishonest to copy software, 
even for one's own use. He is absolutely 
right. But his statement is incomplete. 

The software industry, in general, has 
shown a total disregard for honesty in its 
marketing. A large portion of the available 
software is sold without proper testing. It 
is tested by us, after we pay a ridiculous 
price for it. Customer support just does 
not exist, and the documentation is often 
a joke. According to the "rules" I must buy 
WordStar for each machine in the office. 
And I do not have backup protection with 
some software. Even after paying their 
price I am held ransom! 

My complaint is not against all software 
publishers. Lotus, for example, has done 
a wonderful job of documentation and 
service. 

Mr. Wright is right. But incomplete. Two 
wrongs don't make a right. But as long as 
the publishers are so blatant in their dis- 
honesty software swapping will be with us. 
Dave Churcher 
Rye, NH 



Swift Remark 



I really got a big laugh out of Paul Bern- 
stein's letter ("Computers and Lawyers." 
August 1984. page 16) about the "argu- 
ment" between him and his fellow lawyer 
Robert Wilkins over whether lawyers need 
to know "terms such as RAM, bps, . . . 
and other foreign, often unnecessary 
technical terms.'" That from lawyers, ". . .a 
Society [that] hath a peculiar Cant and 
Jargon of their own, that no other mortal 
can understand, and wherein all of their 
Laws are written, which they take special 
Care to multiply; whereby they have 
wholly confounded the very Essence of 
Truth and Falsehood, of Right and Wrong." 
No comment could better be made on 
the subject than that by Jonathan Swift in 
Gulliver's Travels, Part 4: A Voyage to the 
Country of the Houyhnhnms. Chapter 5. 
William E. White 
Miami, FL 

Modula-2: Overrated? 

After reading all those pro Modula-2 and 
Ada articles in BYTE (August 1984), 1 at 
first feared I was the only one who har- 
bors mixed feelings concerning these lan- 
guages. I was relieved to find David V. Mof- 
fat's "UCSD Pascal vs. Modula-2: A Dis- 
senting View" (page 428). 

While I don't agree with all of Mr. Mof- 
fat's views (e.g., that the lack of publica- 
tions on Modula-2 will become less 

[continued) 



30 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 173 




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These and other fine products are available at 
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ill n Turn 



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Rolltop Disk File 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 



" 




LETTERS 



distinct in the future). I'd like to point out 
a couple of items that have escaped men- 
tion so far. 

The improved readability of Modula-2 
source, achieved by the no-longer-needed 
BEGIN. ..END brackets that contain Pascal 
compound statements, is obviated be- 
cause of the END statement that ter- 
minates all control structures apart from 
REPEAT. 1 would have preferred a specific 



end statement for each control statement, 
like ENDDO, ENDWHILE, ENDLOOP, 
ENDIF, etc. 

Pascal's lamented rigid order in which 
declarations have to be made shows its 
main advantage when it comes to soft- 
ware maintenance. 1 wouldn't want to look 
for that doubly defined global variable 
that crept in when an existing program 
was extended, were it possible to declare 



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said variable anywhere near the pro- 
cedure that used it first, let alone in some 
external module. 

I find Modula-2 s IF not much of an im- 
provement over that of Pascal as far as 
nested IFs are concerned, the latter of 
which I tend to avoid and use logical ex- 
pressions instead. Taking Robert J. Paul's 
recipe example (An Introduction to 
Modula-2," August 1984. page 195). 
wouldn't you agree that 

IF (oregano IN recipe[1]) 
AND 
(thyme IN recipe[1]) 
THEN 

WRITELN( 'Use oregano & thyme' ) 
ELSE 
WRITELN( 'Use only thyme' ); 

is easier to understand than what ap- 
peared on page 1 98? 

Edmund Ramm 
Kaltenkirchen, West Germany 

What a shame that you did not include the 
article "UCSD Pascal vs. Modula-2: A Dis- 
senting View" by David V, Moffat in the 
theme section of your August issue; it 
would have provided some balance in 
what was an informative but rather biased 
section. 

I write to support Mr. Moffat's thesis that 
Modula-2 has yet to be proved a signifi- 
cant improvement over UCSD Pascal. Hav- 
ing used UCSD Pascal since 1980. I can 
link in assembly-language routines, build 
libraries, and write units with hardly a sec- 
ond thought. For programmers, the in- 
equality of 

Benefits of Modula-2 > Cost of 

software + 
time to re- 
learn + time 
to rewrite old 
routines 

must be clearly shown to be true. 1 have 
yet to be convinced that the benefits 
outweigh the value of Pascal experience. 
Could it be that those software companies 
that have sold thousands of Pascal com- 
pilers in the past few years now fear that 
they are beginning to saturate the market 
and are promoting Modula-2 as a means 
of maintaining company profits? 

One small point: Am I the only one who 
finds that dozens of ENDs, some for IFs, 
some for FORs. some for LOOPs, make 
Modula-2 programs less easy to read than 
Pascal programs? 

Stuart A. Bell 

Sidmouth, Devon, England 

{continued on page 416) 



32 BYTE • FEBRUARY 198 5 



Inquiry 26 



FIXES AND UPDATES 



iYTE'S BUG! 



C Listing Bug 



Bob Bonomo picked out a bug in the C 
source listing for the quicksort function in 
the October BYTE Japan. (See "Bits and 
Pieces" by William M. Raike page 369.) 
In listing 1 on page 374, the third WHILE 
statement should read: 

while {\>'\&& strcmp(base(j], pivot) > =0) 

Our thanks to Mr. Bonomo. 

A Case of Misidentification 

A caption in our product description of 
the Tandy 1000 incorrectly identifies a 
screen display. (See "The Tandy 1000" by 
G. Michael Vose. December, page 98.) 

On page 101, the caption identifies the 
screen display on the right as being pro- 
duced by DeskMate. The photo actually 
depicts a screen from IBM's HomeWord. 
a word-processing program that also runs 
on the Tandy machine. HomeWord is pro- 
duced by IBM's Entry Systems Division in 
Boca Raton, Florida. 

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish? 

A note arrived from Paul Hills of 
Launceston in Cornwall. England, telling 
us that we misstated the annual subscrip- 
tion fee for his club's newsletter. (See 
Clubs & Newsletters, August, page 68.) 

The 6809 User Group Newsletter is available 
for £3 annually. Overseas subscriptions are 
$4.70 in the U.S. and $6 in Canada. 

Weather Report Incorrect 

Charles S. Barnaby. vice president of the 
Berkeley Solar Group, sent us a clarifica- 
tion concerning the computer service that 
his company offers. In Matthew Lesko's 
article "Low-Cost On-Line Databases" 
(October, page 167), it was incorrectly 
stated that the Berkeley Solar Group offers 
"the latest weather." 

The Berkeley Solar Group has a large 
collection of weather data; however, this 
data is based on records at least several 
years old. The data is suitable for use with 
building energy-analysis software. Portions 
of this information are available through 



interactive inquiry but the bulk of it serves 
as input for hour-by-hour building simula- 
tion programs. 

The weather data is available for users 
of the Berkeley Solar Group's building 
energy-analysis software, which includes 
such programs as DOE-2, CALPAS3, and 
FCHART The data can be used for other 
purposes, but its purchase must be 
negotiated on a case-by-case basis. 

We thank Mr. Barnaby for clarifying this 
inaccuracy on our part. The Berkeley Solar 
Group can be reached at 3140 Martin 
Luther King Jr. Way, POB 3289, Berkeley, 
CA 94703. (415) 843-7600. 

Books Have American Distributor 

Jeffrey A. Blackman of the Computer 
Science Press in Rockville. Maryland, sent 
us some information about five books 
mentioned in the November Books 
Received section (page 495). 

The books. A First Course in Formal lan- 
guage Theory. From Logic to Computers, LISP Pro- 
gramming, Microcomputers and Their Commercial 
Applications, and UNIX for Users, are all 
published by Blackwell Scientific; however, 
they are distributed in North America by 
the Computer Science Press. 

If you wish to order these books, con- 
tact Computer Science Press Inc., 1 1 Taft 
Court, Rockville, MD 20850, (301) 

2 51-9050. 

Windy Day Bug 

Mark R. Parker of Seattle. Washington, saw 
an error in listing 1. the Module Windy- 
Day, in Eric Eldred's review "Volition Sys- 
tems' Modula-2" (June, page 353). 
In the procedure OpenWindow (page 

3 56), the line: 

Open (wind, 0, 1, 39); 

should read: 

Open (wind, 0, 0, 1, 39); 

because a call to open requires five 
parameters. The omitted second zero 
places the message at the upper left-hand 
corner of the screen. 



Also, the comment "Phony" should be 
changed to "little busy bee." 

New Telephone Number 

Microserve in Tyler, Texas, which was men- 
tioned in the October BYTE, has a new 
telephone number for its network. (See 
"Low-Cost On-Line Databases" by 
Matthew Lesko, page 167.) 

The new telephone number is (2 14) 
581-3722. 

Photo Credits Due 

We inadvertently neglected to credit Lee 
Wright, a freelance photographer based 
in Medford, Massachusetts, for snapping 
the photos that accompanied Henry 
Brugsch's article in the Guide to the Apple 
Personal Computers, a special supplement to 
the December BYTE. (See Apple's New 
Modem and Access II." page A 58.) 
We apologize for this oversight. 

Address Change 

Sinclair Research, whose ZX Spectrum + 
was featured in the December BYTE 
What's New, has relocated. (See page 435.) 
The new address is Sinclair Research, 
Berkeley Square House, London W1X 5 LB, 
England: tel: 01-499 2666; Telex: 265212. 



;dba< 



More on POPLOG 



In the October BYTE U.K.. we inadvertently 
listed Aaron Sloman as the distributor for 
POP-1 1 and POPLOG, a pair of tools avail- 
able to researchers in artificial intelligence. 
(See "Pop and Snap" by Dick Pountain, 
page 381.) 

Mr. Solman informs us that POPLOG is 
marketed in the U.S by Systems Designers 
Ltd. International, Suite 201, 5203 Lees- 
burg TUrnpike Falls Church, VA 22041, 
(703) 820-2700. In the U.K., it's available 
from Systems Designers Ltd., Systems 
House, 1 Pembroke Broadway, Camberley, 

[continued] 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 33 




FIXES & UPDATES 



IEEE-488 Interfaces and 
Bus Extenders For: 

IBM PC, PCjr 
& COMPATIBLES 

DEC UNIBUS, Q-BUS 
& RAINBOW 100 

MULTIBUS, VMEbus 
STD & S-100 

Full IEEE-488 functionality, with the most com- 
prehensive language and operating system cover- 
age in the industry. It takes experience to make 
IEEE-488 systems work with nearly 4000 devices 
available from more than 500 different manufac- 
turers, and experience is what enables National 
Instruments to take the GPIB to the 
second power and beyond. 




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customer support and satisfaction. 
CALL 1-800-531 -GPIB for instant access 
to 100 + man-years of GPIB experience. 



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12109 Technology Blvd. 
Austin, TX 78727 
1-800-531-5066 5127250-9119 
Telex: 756737 NAT INST AUS 



!BM and PCjr are trademarks of Internationa) Business Machines. MULTI- 
BUS is a trademark of Intel. DEC. UNIBUS. Q-BUS, and Rainbow 100 are 
trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation 



Surrey, GUI 5 3HX; tel: 0276 62244, 

Mr. Sloman has informed us that "POP- 
LOG is now the main official AI software 
development environment in the U.K. for 
Prolog and POP-1 1. The existing 'toy' LISP 
component (suitable for teaching) is being 
replaced by COMMON LISP" 

POPLOG, according to Mr. Sloman, 
comes with a large collection of on-line 
help files, teaching files, and libraries of 
utilities and demonstration programs. 
Mixed languages are supported, and a 
multi windowed screen editor V ED can be 
used with all three main languages. It runs 

Speaking of Least Squares 



on VAX computers under VMS and 
Berkeley UNIX. It's also available "on a 
growing number" of M6800Obased UNIX 
machines. In North America it's $10,000, 
with a ninety-percent (90%) discount for 
educational institutions. 

'At present," writes Mr. Sloman. 
"POPLOG is too big for most personal 
computers. Our hope is that it will not be 
long before machines with at least 2 
megabytes of RAM and 40 to 100 mega- 
bytes of backup storage will be cheap 
enough to make POPLOG much more 
widely available for educational use." 



Steven A. Ruzinsky saw a number of 
doubtful statements in Marco Caceci and 
William Cacheris's article "Fitting Curves 
to Data" (May, page 340). He cites these 
remarks: 

This is called the least-squares criterion. For 
random errors randomly generated (usual- 
ly a reasonable assumption), this is the best 
criterion of all. 

"This is simply untrue," says Ruzinsky. "In 
order for least squares to be the best 
criterion, the errors must have indepen- 
dent and identical normal (Gaussian) dis- 
tributions. In situations meeting this re- 
quirement, least squares can be a max- 
imum likelihood estimate of the param- 
eters. For situations where the errors are 
not Gaussian, least squares is suboptimal. 
A good counter example to the authors' 
statement is the case where the errors 
have a binary distribution, e.g., a random 
sequence of Is and - Is. In this case, I 

Electronic Yellow Pages in LA 

The vice president of Buy-Phone Inc., 
David Lappen. sent us information about 
his company's database, which was left 
out of Matthew Lesko's article "Low-Cost 
On-Line Databases." (See October, page 
167.) 

Buy-Phone is an "electronic yellow 
pages" system serving the Los Angeles 
area. It has more than 10,000 listings in 
2 5,000 search categories, ranging from 
current movie listings, restaurant and 
department store offerings, to computer 
outlets. 

Access is free of charge to users. Busi- 
nesses pay $1 50 for a year's worth of ad- 
vertising; ads can be changed daily at no 
extra cost. Personal ads, which are also 
free, can be posted for two weeks. 

At 300 bps, call Buy-Phone at (2 1 3) 474- 
0270. At 1200 bps. call (213) 470-4679. 



believe one will find a minimax fit (also 
called "Chebyshev" or "1 oo") much more 
statistically efficient than least squares." 

Mr. Cacheris notes that the first state- 
ment was intended to be broad and that 
least-squares analyses are often used 
under less than optimal conditions since 
the results can be checked by various 
methods, such as sensitivity analysis. 

"Least-squares method is certainly best 
when the errors have identical distribu- 
tions . . . [which] we mentioned towards 
the end of our article when describing 
sensitivity analysis. We state that several 
synthetic data sets ... are made by add- 
ing identical normal distributions to the error- 
less curve. Thus, the least-squares fits to 
these synthetic data sets are the best fit 
to these data sets and the values of the 
parameters obtained should approach the 
experimental data's values of the param- 
eters if the error in the experimental data 
has identical normal distributions." 

BYTE'S BITS 



Public-Domain Software Library 

The Houston Area League of PC Users 
(HAL-PC), a group of 1000-plus IBM Per- 
sonal Computer fans, maintains a library 
of public-domain and "shareware" (i.e., pay 
if you like it) software. Disks are available 
from the library for $2 per disk. For a 
listing of titles, send a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope to Nelson Ford. HAL- 
PC Librarian, do The Public Library, POB 
61565, Houston, TX 77208. 

Software authors wishing to share their 
public-domain or shareware programs are 
encouraged to contact the group presi- 
dent, Duane Hendricks. Other users 
groups interested in trades should contact 
Jack McClure at POB 610001, Houston, TX 
77208. ■ 



34 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



THE NCR PC 
IS COMPATIBLE WITH 
PEOPLEJOO. 



Getting along with all kinds of 
people is one of the most endearing 
qualities of the NCR PC4. 

It gets along with bosses, secre- 
taries, accountants, engineers, lawyers, 
everybody. 

Even first-timers take a liking to 
this computer the moment they take it 
out of the box. 

Perhaps its good looks have a lot 
to do with this. But its beauty is more 
than skin deep. 

Its smart, integrated cabinet takes 
up precious little space on your desk. 

There are no complicated wires or 
clumsy boxes to set up. All you have to 
do is plug it in. 

The keyboard is the same familiar 
layout your fingers know and love. Plus 
a couple of nice touches. Like separate 




cursor keys and a separate numeric 
keypad to make it easier to work with 
programs that have long lists and lots 
of numbers. 

The NCR PC even comes with two 
special self-teaching programs that 
will have you computing in a matter of 
minutes. NCR PAL shows you how to 
use the computer itself. NCR TUTOR 
introduces you to word processing, 
spreadsheets and other popular busi- 
ness programs. 

And if you get lost along the way, 
there's a built-in HELP command you 
type in to get you back on track. 

Add all this up and you start to see 
why the NCR PC is so compatible with 
people. 

Of course, its also compatible with 
thousands of programs available at 
computer stores everywhere. 

And it's compatible with industry 
standard hardware. Which means you 



can add on all sorts of helpful accesso- 
ries. Like a printer, a modem for elec- 
tronic mail, a mouse for even easier 
operation and all the memory you 
need— up to 640K. 

If you'd like to meet this terrific 
computer, go to your nearest Author- 
ized NCR Personal Computer Dealer. 

Just ask for the computer every- 
body gets along with. 

For the name of your nearest 
dealer, call toll-free: 1-800-544-3333. 
In Nebraska call: 1-800-343-4300. 

Inquiry 230 



NCR 



A BETTER PERSONAL COMPUTER. 

IT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D 

EXPECT FROM NCR. 



«*v 




M^nnypf 



mmm 






Great Ideas 

look even better 

on a Princeton monitor 



Your Great Ideas deserve the best image you can give them. But, 
just as a music system's performance depends on the speakers, your 
computer system is limited by the quality of your monitor. 

Monitor performance can be measured. That's something you 
should know about. 

In other words, your Great Ideas should be seen, not blurred. 




W Shakespeare composing Great Ideas on a Princeton Monitor 



36 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



"hings you should know about monitors 



Resolution The quality of 
\ color monitor's image is 
Jirectly related to its resolution, 
"he greater the number of dots 
ivailable within a given area for 
displaying an image the greater 
he resolution. 

$ The PRINCETON SR-12 

nonitor features an extra- 
>rdinary 640x480 (non-inter- 
aced) resolution. The result is 
nn extremely high quality, flick- 
?rless image with text that ap- 
proaches monochrome quality. 
Jt/hen used in conjunction with 
;he PRINCETON Scan-Doubler 
:ard, the SR-12 runs from a 
;tandard IBM or equivalent color 
:ard, maintaining complete com- 
Datibility with all IBM software. 



Dot pitch The image on an 
RGB color monitor is made up of 
a series of tiny dots. Dot pitch 
measures the distance between 
those dots. Anything finer than 
.38mm is considered high 
resolution. 

The PRINCETON HX-12 

RGB color monitor, with a dot 
pitch of .31mm, offers the finest 
resolution in its class. The HX-12 
delivers 16 crisp, sharp colors 
including clean whites without 
color bleed — a not-so-easy 
accomplishment in an RGB 
monitor. 



Price All Princeton monitors 
set the price/performance stand- 
ard In their class. The SR-12 
at S799 compares favorably 
with monitors costing hundreds 
more. The HX-12 is in a class by 
itself at $695. 

The PRINCETON MAX- 12, 

with easy-on-the-eyes amber 
phosphor, sets the standard for 
monochrome monitors at $249. 
The MAX-12's dynamic focusing 
circuitry ensures sharpness not 
only in the center but also in 
the edges and corners. And it 
runs off the IBM PC mono- 
card— no special card is 
required. 






All three monitors feature a non-glare screen and an IBM 
compatible cable. A PCjr adapter cable is also available for the HX-12. 
And to see your Great Ideas from the best possible angle, you can put 
your Princeton monitor on the Princeton Undergraduate Tilt and 
Swivel Base for only $39.95. Or, while supplies last, get the 
Undergraduate FREE with the purchase of a MAX- 12 monitor. 

Image The ultimate test of any monitor is how the image looks 
to your own eyes. Compare the Princeton monitors side-by-side with 
the competition at Computerland, Entre or your local independent 
dealer. 

Do it soon. You and your Great Ideas deserve the best. 

Inquiry 25 5 



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FEBRUARY 1985 •BYTE 37 




FOR flSOPLE WHO 

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The StarWriter Y10 from C. Itoh. 

What sets this letter quality daisy 
wheel apart is its fabulous figure. Priced at 
only $595. 

This little beauty prints 22 letter perfect 
characters per second. And like the rest of 
C. Itoh's fine printers, the StarWriter Y10 
acts without acting up. 

That's because it has been thoroughly 
tested and proven on the job to assure 
reliability. And it comes with a full year's 
warranty, backed by over 400 authorized 
service centers coast to coast. 

The Y10 is an awful lot of printer for very 
little money. But that's not surprising when 
you consider that C. Itoh's been producing 
superior printers for over a decade. What's 
more, it has the strong backing of our 126- 
year-old parent company with over $60 
billion in annual sales. 

And the StarWriter Y10 is compatible 
with most of the popular PCs. It has a 256- 
byte buffer. And there is a full line of 
accessories available such as a cut sheet 
feeder and tractor feed. 

Little wonder C. Itoh printers are No. 1 
worldwide, with over 2.2 million sold annu- 
ally. And with the StarWriter Y10 we're aim- 
ing to keep it that way. 

To meet your own perfect 10, just see 
your local C. Itoh printer dealer. Or for more 
information call 1-800-423-0300. 

Or write C. Itoh Digital Products, Inc. 
19750 South Vermont Avenue, Suite 220, 
Torrance, CA 90502. 

go[JiEC=D 

DIGITAL PRODUCTS 



© 1984 News Group Chicago. Inc 




' StarWriter is a Trademark of C Itoh Digital Products. Inc 
1985 C Itoh Digital Products, Inc 



38 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 38 for Dealers. Inquiry 39 for End-users. 



WHAT'S NEW 




Tandy Unveils $999 Notebook Computer 



Radio Shack's battery- 
powered notebook-size 
Model 200 has a flip-up 
16-line by 40-column LCD 
and a built-in 300-bps auto- 



comes with 24 K bytes of 
RAM and 72K bytes of 
ROM. and it includes word- 
processing, spreadsheet, 
telecommunications, and 



dial modem. The Model 200 address-book programs. 



Memory can be expanded 
with two 24K-byte banks of 
RAM, for a total of 72 K, and 
a 32K-byte ROM chip. 

The system's keyboard has 
60 full-travel sculptured keys, 
12 special- and general- 
purpose function keys, and a 
power switch that is auto- 
matically depressed when 
the LCD/cover is closed. A 
cassete interface and 
parallel and serial ports are 
standard. The Model 200 
weighs 4/2 pounds and 
measures ll 3 /4 by 8V5 by 2Mb 
inches. 

Although the Model 200 
uses the same processor as 
the Model 100. changes in 
ROM will prevent Model 100 
machine-language programs 
from running on the Model 



200: BASIC programs will 
work on both. Other dif- 
ferences are a modified cur- 
sor key cluster, enhanced 
word-processing features, 
Microsoft's Multiplan spread- 
sheet in ROM, calculator 
function available from any 
program, and optional pulse 
or tone dialing. Normal bat- 
tery life is 10-16 hours 
depending on RAM size or 
you can install rechargeable 
nickel cadmium (nicad) 
batteries. 

The Model 200 will retail 
for $999; 24K-byte add-on 
modules cost $249.95 each. 
Contact T&ndy/Radio Shack, 
One Tandy Center. Fort 
Worth, TX 76102, or your 
local Radio Shack store. 
Inquiry 600. 



Datavue Portable Includes Disk Drive, 80 by 25 Display 



Quadram's Datavue 2 5 is 
a 14-pound portable 
computer with a 360K-byte 
5^-inch disk drive and a 
pivoting 80-character by 
25-line LCD. It features an 
8 3 -key keyboard that com- 
municates with the com- 
puter through infrared 
signals. The Datavue 2 5 has 
an 80C88 microprocessor, a 
real-time clock, 128K bytes 
of memory, and serial and 
parallel ports. It is powered 
either by an AC adapter/ 
recharger or by built-in bat- 
teries that last up to four 
hours. 

Monochrome graphics are 
available in either 640 by 
200 resolution or 320 by 
200 resolution with four 
levels of gray. An internal 
300-bps modem is an op- 
tion. Memory can be ex- 
panded to 2 56K bytes using 
64K-byte chips or to 1 



megabyte using 2 56K-byte 
chips. Quadram also plans 
to release an external IBM 
PC-compatible bus- 
expansion chassis and an 
external second floppy-disk 
drive. 



The Datavue 2 5 should be 
available in March for 
$2195. Contact Quadram, 
43 55 International Blvd., 
Norcross, GA 30093, (404) 
923-6666. 
Inquiry 601. 




Model 1131 Compass 
Has 128-coIumn LCD 

GRiD Systems' Model 
1131 Compass is a port- 
able computer with a 2 5-line 
by 128-column electro- 
luminescent display (ELD). 
GRiD says that the durable 
10-pound computer is built 
to stand a shock equal to 
130 Gs. The Model 1131 
features 2 56K bytes of RAM 
(expandable to 512K bytes), 
384K bytes of nonvolatile 
bubble memory, a 300/1200- 
bps auto-dial/auto-answer 
modem, and the MS-DOS 
operating system in ROM. 

The Compass Model 1131 
costs $6795; with 512K 
bytes, it's $7995. The price 
of the original Model 1100 
is now $42 50. Contact GRiD 
Systems Corp., 253 5 Garcia 
Ave, Mountain View. CA 
94043, (415) 961-4800. 
Inquiry 602. 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 39 



WHAT'S NEW 



Visage 

Videodisc Software 

Development System 

Visage has introduced a 
series of products for 
developing interactive 
videodisc software. Using an 
IBM PC or compatible per- 
sonal computer, a standard 
videodisc player, and 
Visage's controller card and 
software developers can 
create interactive programs 
for educational applications 
using images from video- 
discs overlayed with 
computer-generated text and 
graphics. 

Visage's V:Link 1000 in- 
cludes an IBM PC expansion 
card and language-interface 
software, which together 
support NTSC graphics with 
2 56 by 192 overlay capabili- 
ties. The V:Link 1500 adds 
the ability to switch between 
a 2 56 by 192 overlay and a 
320 by 200 nonoverlay im- 
age, while the V:Link 1550 
allows both 256 by 192 and 
320 by 200 graphics to be 
overlayed on videodisc 
images. Prices range from 
$1150 to $2150. 

The V:Station 2000 family 
all feature IBM PC-com- 
patible computers with 2 56K 
bytes of RAM, one or two 
floppy disks, the V:Link 1550 
graphics board, and a 
1 3-inch RGB color monitor. 
Some of the V: Station con- 
figurations also include 
medium- or high-resolution 
touchscreens. 10-megabyte 
hard disks, and 51 2K bytes 
of memory. Prices range 
from $5995 to $10,850. 

Visage's products support 
the KoalaPad, Bit Pad, and 
Microsoft Mouse as graphics 
input devices. Optional sup- 
port packages allowing the 
Visage software and hard- 
ware to be used with BASIC, 
Pascal, dBASE II. and 8088 
assembly language cost 
$295 each. V:Paint I and II. 
$500 each, use the Micro- 
soft Mouse ($12 5 extra) to 
create images. Cables are 
available to link the V:Link 




NEC Introduces Four-Color Plotter 



Britewriter is a four-pen 
color plotter that NEC 
says is compatible with 
Hewlett-Packard plotters. The 
Britewriter can plot at a 
speed of 60 millimeters per 
second (mm/s} in low-speed 



mode and 112 mm/s in high- 
speed mode. Characters can 
be drawn at 4.6 cps in one 
color or 2.6 cps in four col- 
ors. The plotter comes with 
black, blue, green, and red 
felt-tip pens; an optional set 



of colors includes violet, 
orange, brown, and pink 
pens. The plotter can be 
used with plain paper or 
transparencies up to 8/2 
inches wide. 

The Britewriter is available 
with parallel or RS-232C 
serial interfaces. It features a 
2 56-byte character and in- 
struction memory and sup- 
ports the ASCII character 
set. Because it uses the 
same commands as Hewlett- 
Packard 7470 and 75 50A 
plotters, it works with most 
graphics programs that 
support Hewlett-Packard 
plotters. 

The Britewriter plotter will 
retail for $599. Contact NEC 
Information Systems Inc., 
1414 Massachusetts Ave.. 
Box borough. MA 01719, 
(617) 264-800. 
inquiry 604. 



Commodore Announces 128K Computer 



Commodore's B128 runs 
any program written for 
the Commodore 64 and has 
a number of additional 
capabilities. This sytem has 
128K bytes of memory, ex- 
pandable to 512K, and it 
can display 80 columns by 
2 5 lines of text in color on 
an optional monitor. In addi- 
tion to the 8500 processor. 



which is used to run Com- 
modore software, the B128 
includes a 2-MHz Z80 co- 
processor to run most 
CP/M-80 programs. 

The 9 2 -key keyboard has a 
numeric keypad, 4 cursor 
keys, 4 numbered shiftable 
function keys, and 4 special- 
purpose function keys. Like 
the 64, the BI28 can display 




16 colors and 8 indepen- 
dently movable sprites and 
can generate sound in three 
voices each with a range of 
eight octaves. The B128 
comes with the same serial, 
expansion, user, and joystick 
ports as the 64; it also in- 
cludes video interfaces for a 
standard television or an 
RGB or NTSC monitor. 

Commodore also intro- 
duced a faster disk drive for 
the Commodore 64 and 
BI28. It transfers data to the 
64 at 320 cps, or to the 
B128 at 2000 cps, or. when 
running CP/M. 3200 cps. 

The Commodore B128 will 
sell for less than $400. Con- 
tact Commodore. Computer 
Systems Division. 1200 
Wilson Dr., West Chester, PA 
19380, (215) 431-9100. 
Inquiry 605. 



card to Sony. Pioneer, RCA, 
and Hitachi videodisc 
players. 
Visage supplies its V:EXEC 



and V:Draw software and 
one language interface with 
all V:Link and V:Station 
products. Contact Visage 



Inc., 12 Michigan Dr., Natick, 
MA 01760. (617) 655-1503. 
Inquiry 603. 

{continued) 



40 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



NEW PRODUCT NEWS 
FROM TELETEK 



Systemaster II. Responding to 
market demand for speed and in- 
creased versatility, Teletek is proud 
to announce the availability of the 
next generation in 8-bit technology 
— the new Systemaster II! The 
Systemaster II will offer two CPU 
options, either a Z80B running 
at 6 MHz or a Z80H running at 
8 MHz, 128K of parity checked 
RAM, two RS232 serial ports with 
on-board drivers (no paddle 
boards required), two parallel 
ports, or optional SCSI or IEEE-488 
port. The WD floppy disk control- 
ler will simultaneously handle 
8" and 5W' drives. A Zilog Z-80 
DMA controller will provide in- 
stant communications over the bus 
between master 
and slave. Add 
to the DMA 
capability a true 
dedicated inter- 
rupt controller 
for both on- 
board and 
bus functions, 
and the re- 
sult is un- 
precedented 
performance. 

Systemaster II will run under 
CP/M 3.0 or TurboDOS 1 .3, and 
fully utilize the bank switching 
features of these operating systems. 



SBC 86/87. As the name indi- 
cates, Teletek's new 16-bit slave 
board has an Intel 8086 CPU with 
an 8087 math co-processor op- 
tion. This new board will provide 
either 128K or 51 2K of parity 
checked RAM. Two serial ports 
are provided with individually 
programmable baud rates. One 
Centronics-compatible parallel 
port is provided. When teamed up 
with Systemaster II under TurboDOS 
1.3, this 5MHz or 8MHz multi- 
user, multi-processing, combina- 
tion cannot be beat in speed or 
feature flexibility! 



U < 

TELETEK TIMES 

SYSTEMASTER f 

MD^Z-150MB 



Teletek Z-150 MB. Teletek is 
the first to offer a RAM expansion 
board designed specifically for the 
Z-150/Z-160 from Zenith. The 
Teletek Z-150 MB is expandable 
from 64K to 384K. Bring your 
Z-150 up to its full potential by 
adding 320K of parity checked 
RAM (or your IBM PC, Columbia, 
Compaq, Corona, Eagle, or Seequa 
to their full potential). The Teletek 
Z-150 MB optionally provides 
a game port for use when your 
portable goes home or a clock/ 
calendar with battery backup! 

Evaluate the Systemaster II, SBC 
86/87 or Teletek Z-1 50 MB for 
30 days under Teletek's Eval- 
uation Program. A 

money-back guarantee 
is provided if not com- 
pletely satisfied! All 
Teletek products carry 
a 3-year warranty. 

(Specifications subject to 

change without 
notice.) 




rELETEK 



4600 Pell Drive 
Sacramento, CA 95838 
(916)920-4600 
Telex #4991834 
Answer back — Teletek 

Inquiry 310 



Yes, ^ 

I'm interested ^ 
in information ^ . 

regarding: 
□ Systemaster II 
□ SBC 86/87 □ Z-1 50 MB 
□ Evaluation Program 
□ Teletek's S-100 Board Line 



Name_ 
Company. 
Address 



2B 



WHAT'S NEW 




Modular Robot Kit 



Cybot's TUtor is a 
modular robot with a 
five-axis arm designed for 
educational and training 
uses. Because the robot can 
be dismantled and reassem- 
bled many times, it helps 
you understand how 
robotics work. 

The package includes the 
robot arm, complete with 
five motors and a gripper, 
and the Controller module, 
which has one free S-100 
card slot for custom applica- 
tions, a standard RS-232C 
serial port, and an interface 
for an optional teach pen- 
dant" You can control the 
robot arm by sending ASCII 
commands from a personal 
computer through the 
RS-2 32C port or by directly 



manipulating the arm with 
the teach pendant. 

Also available is an Op- 
tical Encoder Set. Since the 
set indicates the actual posi- 
tion of one of the motors 
(five are needed to monitor 
all five axis motors), a full 
feedback loop can be used 
to make sure the robot arm 
is precisely where it's sup- 
posed to be. 

The complete Cybot Tutor 
robotics kit costs $3395. 
The optional teach pendant 
is $129.95. Each Optical En- 
coder Set is $70. Parts of 
the robot kit can be pur- 
chased separately. Contact 
Cybot Inc., 12 510 128th Ave. 
NE, B-5. Kirkland, WA 
98034. (206) 823-4156. 
Inquiry 606. 



Computer Satellite Service 



Satellite Broadcast Net- 
work has announced a 
satellite service that will 
transmit financial and news 
information to personal 
computer owners. SBN plans 
to have the service opera- 
tional in May. You will need 
a 12-GHz satellite-receive 
antenna, a low-noise 
amplifier, a solid-state 
receiver, and SBN's 
demodulator; all are 
available from SBN for $695. 
SBN will also charge a fee 
for access to each type of 
information, starting at 
about $2 5 per month. 
SBN will use multiple 
9600-bps channels. Some 
channels will broadcast news 
and weather information, 
others will transmit stock 
and commodity prices. One 
channel might permit down- 
loading of software sample 
programs, while another 
could include special-interest 
database information. A 
user couid place a request 
for special database infor- 
mation with modems and 
telephone lines, but the 
response could be broad- 



cast via satellite to avoid 
phone charges. A special 
header code would ensure 
that only one person could 
decode the information. 



Contact Satellite Business 
Network Inc., 212 West 
Superior St.. Chicago. 1L 
60610. (312) 266-9844. 
Inquiry 607. 




Sord Adds 80 by 25 
Display to IS 11 

Sord has released a ver- 
sion of its IS-11 Consul- 
tant computer with an 
80-character by 2 5-line 
liquid-crystal display and a 
built-in 300-bps modem. The 
6/2 -pound IS-11C has 80K 
bytes of RAM (expandable 
to 144K), 72 K bytes of ROM, 
a 128K-byte microcassette 
tape drive, 62 full-travel 
sculptured keys plus 8 
special function keys, and a 
CMOS Z80A microprocessor 
running at a speed of 3.4 
MHz. In addition to parallel 
and serial ports, the IS-11 C 
can interface with a bar- 
code reader, a separate 
numeric keypad, and op- 
tional 64K-byte ROM car- 
tridges. Word-processing and 
communications software 
are standard in ROM. 

The IS-11C should be avail- 
able this month for $1495. 
For more information, con- 
tact Sord Computer of 
America Inc., 645 Fifth Ave.. 
New York. NY 10022. (212) 
759-0140. 
Inquiry 608 

{continued) 



42 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



PERSONALITY 
PROBLEM? 

UNIX™ and DOS™ At the Same Time! 



DOS 



UNIX 



Looking at an IBM PC/AT? Happy with DOS but want 
UNIX? Happy with UNIX but want DOS? Want them 
working together? 

Get The Connector!™ 

The Connector is a revolutionary product that allows 
DOS applications to run on the IBM PC/AT or XT 
under VENIX/86 (the first licensed AT&T UNIX 
operating system for the IBM PCs) or PCM. That 
means you can add one or more terminals to your AT 
which run programs using multi-user VENIX/86 to 
share the disk and printer. Switch between UNIX and 
DOS at the console with a single command. And run 
more than one task simultaneously. Like running a 
spelling check in the background while you print a 
report and run Lotus 1-2-3™ or dBaselF? 

Get yourself an AT and load it with VENIX. Collect 
your DOS and/or UNIX applications. We'll supply The 
Connector. The right solution to your software per- 
sonality problems. 

Call for complete details. 

Unisource Software Corp. , Department 4 109, 
71 Bent Street, Cambridge, MA 02141. 
Telex 92-1401/COMPUMART CAM 

617-49M264 



Also 
available 
on the 
PC/XT and 
compatibles. 



tr 

_ 



UNIX fc, a trademark of AT&T Technologies, Inc. DOS is a trademark of MfcroMrft. Inc PC/AT and PC/XT aw trademark* of IBM. The Connector Is a trademark 
of Uniform Software Sywems, Inc. VENIX/86 implementation by VcmufCom, Inc. I l-j, and LOTUS are trademarks of Low* Development Corp, dBaseil is a 
trademark of Asbton-Tatc. 

Inquiry 318 



Getting UNIX Software 
Down to Business 

FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 43 



WHAT'S NEW 



Digital Filtering Chip for Speech Processing 



Kurzweil Applied In- 
telligence has intro- 
duced the KSC 2408 digital 
filter chip for use in sound- 
processing applications. 



Each of the eight filters in 
the KSC 2408 processes 24 
bits of information (with 48 
bits accumulated at a time}. 
Each of the filters processes 




information in a given fre- 
quency range; Kurzweil says 
that dozens of filters— or 
many 2408 chips— would be 
needed to divide up the fre- 
quency spectrum of the 
human voice enough to 
make speech recognition 
possible. 

The 2408 can process 
sound up to a sampling fre- 
quency of 125 kHz (125,000 
cycles per second) if only 
two filters are activated; if 
all eight filters are activated, 
the maximum sampling rate 
is 32 kHz. Since the chip is 
programmable, it can be 
used for other types of 
digital filtering, including 
high-pass, band-pass, or low- 
pass. 

Kurzweil plans to market a 



10,000-word vocabulary 
speech-recognition system 
and is working on develop- 
ment of a voice-activated 
typewriter, Company 
founder Raymond Kurzweil 
earlier developed the 
Kurzweil Reading Machine, 
which can read text for the 
blind regardless of the 
typeface, and the Kurzweil 
2 50 digital keyboard (music 
synthesizer). 

The Kurzweil 2408 digital 
filter chip costs $81 for a 
3 -MHz version or $101 for a 
6-MHz version; quantity dis- 
counts are available. Contact 
Kurzweil Applied Intelligence 
Inc., 411 Waverley Oaks Rd., 
Waltham, MA 02154, (617) 
893-5151. 
Inquiry 609, 



Twelve Million Instructions per Second 



According to Cromemco, 
its Maximizer copro- 
cessor subsystem executes 
an average of 12 million in- 
structions per second. The 
Maximizer features a 
2900-series ECL (emitter- 
coupled logic) bit-slice pro- 
cessor running at 48 MHz. It 
also has 16K bytes of 50-ns 
RAM, 16 dual-port registers, 
and 4096 48-bit words for 
downloaded microcode in- 
structions. Cromemco says 
the chip's speed is en- 
hanced by the use of a 
60-ns multiplier chip and a 
doubly pipelined instruction 
path. Most instructions ex- 
ecute in 62.5 ns, though 
some may take as long as 
125 ns. 

The Maximizer comes on 
two S-100 (IEEE-696) bus 
boards that plug into 
Cromemco's microcom- 
puters. The system runs 
under the company's Cromix 
operating system, and it will 
soon run under UNIX 
System V as well. 

The Maximizer supports 
FORTRAN, Pascal, and C 
Also available is MAXASM, 



a microcode assembler used 
to write custom microcode 
for applications where ex- 
ecution speed is critical. 



The Maximizer retails for 
$3495; the MAXASM Micro- 
code Assember costs $2995. 
Contact Cromemco Inc., 280 



Bernardo Ave., POB 7400, 
Mountain View, CA 94039. 
(415) 964-7400. 
Inquiry 610. 



Data Access Enhances Database Program 



Data Access Corpora- 
tion's DataFIex 2.1 is a 
16-bit version of the com- 
pany's multiuser relational 
database programming 
system. It permits over 16 



million records per file up 
to 2 50 files, each as large as 
the operating system will 
handle (up to 2 gigabytes, 
32 megabytes in MS-DOS), 
and use of unlimited RAM. 




The package includes a 
relational database com- 
mand language, a custom 
menu system, and an ap- 
plication generator. Versions 
of the program are available 
for such operating systems 
as MS-DOS/PC-DOS l.l 
through 3.1, CP/M, CP/M-86, 
Concurrent CP/M-86. MP/M, 
MP/M-86. and TurboDOS. 
DataFIex also operates 
under a number of network- 
ing systems. 

Pricing depends on the 
computer, operating system, 
and number of users; a 
single-user IBM PC version 
is $995. A separate run-time 
version is available. For 
details, contact Data Access, 
852 5 Southwest 129 Terrace, 
Miami, FL 33156-6565, (305) 
238-0012. 
Inquiry 611. 

[continued on page 421) 



44 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1983 



Need RGB color and 
TTL monochrome A 
support from a 
single board? 





decision! 



INTELLIGENT B-450 
Mono/Color Display Card 



Color Graphics Mode: 640 dots x 200 lines 



TTL Monochrome Mode: 640 dots x 350 lines Interlace Mode: 640 dots x 400 lines 



Iook no further, the INTELLIGENT 
B-450 has it all. Designed to work 
with the IBM PC, PC XT, and PC AT, 
the INTELLIGENT B-450 is also suitable 
for IBM PC look-alikes. In addition to a 
parallel printer port, the B-450 has fourteen 
different screen modes which cover everything 
from medium-resolution monochrome text to 
high-resolution color graphics with interlace. 



Everyone from the ordinary user to the CAD/CAM 
specialist will find the B-450 is just right. 

Sound good? With a suggested retail price 
of only $294, it's nothing less than great! 

IBM and IBM PC are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. 



INrELLIGENr 
DATASYS1EM 



Toll 



Intelligent Data System, Inc. 

14932 Gwenchris Ct., Paramount, CA 90723 
Free Tel: (800)325-2455 Calif. Tel: (213)633-5504 Telex: 509098 



Inquiry 150 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 45 



mpupro System Component, 



Components are the essence of your computer. 
Without the right components, you're restricting 
your system's potential for maximum productivity. 

CompuPro components enable you to make the 
most of your computer's capabilities. Choose from 
more than 25 boards to build or expand your system 
. . .to any of our ten fully integrated models. You 
can add more users to your CompuPro system, 
increase its memory, add a hard disk drive— all 
with modular components that mesh perfectly 
with your existing system. 

Since 1973, our design team has been recognized 
for creating the highest performing, most reliable 
products at the lowest possible price. For the 
toughest business, scientific and industrial com- 
puting environments— across the country and 
around the world— make CompuPro IEEE 696/ 
S-100 components the essence of your system. 



OARDS 



CPU 68K™ 68000-based board with sockets for memory 
management unit and up to 8Kx16 (16 Kb) of EPROM. 

CPU 86/87™ 8086-based board with sockets for 8087 math 
processor and 80130 firmware chips. Compatible with 8- and 
16-bit memory. 

CPU 8085/88™ The original, much imitated dual processor 
board delivers 8-bit, 16-bit, or 8- and 16-bit computing capability, 

CPU-Z™ Includes ail standard Z80B features. Downward compati- 
bility with the vast library of 8080 software. 

CPU 32016™ A true 32-bit processor for the desktop micro- 
computer. Compatible with 8- and 16-bit memory. 

CPU 286™ Based on the high-performance iAPX 80286/10 16-bit 
processor. 100% software compatible with 8086 and 8088 proces- 
sors for unprecedented speed and power. 



Cmos Static 12 Mhz Memory Boards 



RAM 22™ 256Kx8 or 128Kx16-works automatically with 8- or 
16-bit processors. A low-power, high-density RAM board. 

RAM 23™ 128Kx8 or 64Kx16-works automatically with 8- or 
16-bit processors. A low-power, high-density RAM board. 



Mdrive®/h 



512K or 2 Mb disk memory board. Emulates disk drive operation 
and runs under CP/M®or MP/M™ Can increase operating speeds 
up to 3500%. Expandable up to 4 Mb for even more storage. 

46 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




Dual Floppy Disk Subsystem, 



Two 8" floppy drives provide up to 2.4 Mb of formatted storage. 
With all-metal enclosure, Disk 1A™ controller, rugged power 
supply, cables, and software: Digital Research's CP/M-80™ and 
CP/M-86® 



8" Floppy Hard Disk Subsystem 



One or two 8" floppy disk drives and one 20 Mb, 40 Mb or 80 Mb 
hard disk drive in all-metal enclosure with controller, rugged power 
supply, cables and software. CP/M-80 and CP/M-86. 



Disk Controller Boards 



Disk 1A™ High-performance, high-speed floppy disk controller 
for 8" and 5Va " drives; reads and writes most popular formats. 

Disk 2™/ Selector Channel™ A high-performance 8" Winchester 
disk controller with high operating speed and flawless DMA. 




he Essence Of Computing 




System Support 1 



Disk 3I M A high-performance Winchester disk controller for 5 1 /4 " 
hard-disk drives. High speed "burst mode" DMA transfers each 
disk sector in a block. 



Interface Boards 



Interfacer 3™ Eight RS-232C serial ports 

(2 synchronous/asynchronous, 6 asynchronous). 

Interfacer 4I M Three RS-232C serial ports, one parallel port, one 
Centronics parallel port. 



MpxT 



Multi-user system front-end processor with 16K on-board RAM. 
Intended for OEM applications only. 



High-Perform ance Motherboards 



Quiet, fast and reliable. Shielded with active termination. A variety 
of formats (6, 12 or 21 slots) offers maximum flexibility. 

Inquiry 58 



Clock/calendar; math processor option; RS-232C serial port; 
interval timers and interrupt controllers; plus many more useful 
features. 



Systems 



CompuPro's extensive System 816 series of fully integrated single- 
and multi-user microcomputers includes eleven IEEE 696/S-100 
bus models offering 8-, 16- or 32-bit operation, and our 
CompuPro 10 and CompuPro 286 business computers. 

All are CP/M or MP/M based, enabling users to access more than 
3,000 industry standard application programs. 



Desktop Enclosure 2 



With shielded/terminated 21-slot motherboard, power supply, fan, 
dust filter, rugged all-metal construction. 



Documentation 



"Bits, Bytes and Buzzwords" is a primer for those who want to 
get started right in business computing. 25 pages. 

"CompuPro Product User Manuals," Volume 1. 250-plus pages. 

"CompuPro Product User Manuals" Volume 2. 300-plus pages. 

"Interfacing to S-100/IEEE 696 Microcomputers" by Mark Garetz 
and Sol Libes. 321 pages. 

individual technical manuals also available. 



Warranty 



All CompuPro products are backed by a one year limited warranty 
with a two year option. We also offer nationwide on-site service by 
Xerox Americare™-free with the purchase of designated systems. 



Essential C 



omputer 



Qmg 



uPro 



3506 Breakwater Court, Hayward, CA 94545 

For further information and the location of the participating 
Full Service CompuPro System Center nearest you, call 
1-800-367-7816. In California call (415) 786-0909 ext. 206. 



©1984 CompuPro 

CP/M and CP/M-86 are registered trademarks and MP/M and CP/M-80 are trademarks of Digital 
Research Inc. SuperCaic is a trademark of Sorcim Corp. dBASE li is a registered trademark of Ashton- 
Tate Americare is a trademark of Xerox Corp. MDRIVE is a registered trademark and CPU 68K. 
CPU 86/87, CPU 8085/88, CPU-Z. CPU 32016, CPU 286, Disk 1A, Disk 2, Selector Channel, Disk 3, 
RAM 22, RAM 23, Interfacer 3, Interfacer 4, System Support 1, MPX-1 and The Essentia! Computer 
are trademarks of CompuPro. 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 47 



ASK BYTE 



Conducted by Steve Garcia 



Corona Compatibility 

Dear Steve 

I've had my Corona PC for about a year 
now, and for the first time I've run into an 
incompatibility with the IBM PC. The prob- 
lem is that the IBM PC has an extra open 
socket built into it to add a ROM or 
EPROM, and the Corona doesn't. A few 
programs on the market make use of this 
socket, including a genetics program I am 
interested in. Is there a fairly simple way 
to add an extra ROM chip? 

Another problem is that my BIOS is writ- 
ten on a 28-pin 2764, while the chip for 
the genetics program is on a 24-pin 
2732A. How can I use the 2732 in my Cor- 
ona, and what is the difference between 
a 2732 and 2732A anyway? 

Yet another problem is the Corona's in- 
compatibility with IBM graphics, lb get 
graphics on the IBM, you must buy a 
graphics color card, which uses memory 
locations B800 to BCOO hexadecimal. On 
the Corona, different RAM locations are 
used for graphics. Is there a way to modify 
programs that need the color card (e.g., 
Flight Simulator) so that they will work on 
the Corona? It may not be that difficult 
because there is a graphics driver by HST, 
which if loaded before Lotus 1-2-3, 
enables 1-2-3 to draw graphs perfectly on 
my screen. 

Richard Berman 
King of Prussia, PA 

You should be able to add a ROM to 
the Corona by installing it on an expan- 
sion board with the proper interfacing 
circuitry. This could be built on a PC pro- 
totyping board, such as those produced 
by Vector Electronic Co., POB 4336, 
12460 Gladstone Ave., Sylmar, CA 91342, 
(818) 365-9661. Since all 20 address lines 
are available in the I/O channel (expan- 
sion slots), you can set up the address- 
ing as required for the ROMs with your 
genetics program. There could be inter- 
ference between the Corona's BIOS ROM 
and the add-on ROM. IBM uses 40K 
bytes out of the 48K bytes of reserved 
ROM space, and I suspect that the 
Corona uses the same space to preserve 
compatibility with IBM. 

The 2 732s are programmed at +25 V, 



while the 2732 As require only 21 V 

A possibility exists that the HST graph- 
ics-driver program you mention may 
allow you to run the new Microsoft Flight 
Simulator on your Corona but not the 
original version. The new version can be 
loaded from DOS with the command FS, 
so a driver can be loaded ahead of the 
program. The original version could be 
loaded only by rebooting, which of 
course wipes out the graphics driver. See 
your dealer for a demonstration before 
you buy because there may be other in- 
compatibilities not fixed by the HST 
driver.— Steve 



Source Book Needed 

Dear Steve, 

As a computer counselor, I help clients 
with hardware and software purchases, 
checking sources and buffering clients 
from high-pressure salespeople. Since I 
am not affiliated with any computer manu- 
facturer or outlet, I do not limit my clients 
to the selections of a particular store. 
However, this lack of affiliation means that 
I do not receive promotional materials, 
which limits my effectiveness. Can you 
recommend any source book that lists 
various computer manufacturers and gives 
at least minimal specifications on their 
products? 

Patricia Selk 
Stafford, VA 

Many sources of information of the 
type you need are available. First, most 
computer magazines, including BYTE, 
publish reviews of microcomputers, pe- 
ripherals, and accessories. These are a 
good source of unbiased information. 

Second, you can get promotional infor- 
mation from manufacturers by writing to 
them on your letterhead, explaining your 
needs. Their addresses are available in 
ads in BYTE and other magazines and are 
frequently published in buyers guides 
and directories available at most com- 
puter stores and many bookstores. 

A third source is companies that spe- 
cialize in publishing survey reports on this 
type of equipment. One of these is Data- 
pro Research Corporation, 1805 Under- 



wood Blvd., Delran, NJ 08075, (800) 
2 5 7-9406. -Steve 

Drive-Head Problem 

Dear Steve, 

I bought an Atari 800 and two Atari 810 
disk drives three years ago. Some time 
ago, one of the drives began to have prob- 
lems. Before realizing that it was only a 
burned-out IC, 1 measured the head's 
resistance with a digital tester. Since then, 
the drive seems to be able to write but 
does not read. I think I've magnetized the 
head. I tried to demagnetize it with various 
methods (including the use of a commer- 
cial head demagnetizer for cassette 
recorders), but 1 haven't had any success. 
If you think I must replace the head, could 
you tell me where ! could buy it? 

Odino ClAl 
Buenos Aires, Argentina 

Digital testers normally do not supply 
enough current to damage a disk-drive 
read/write head. You did not say whether 
you could write to a disk and read it from 
the other drive. It is possible that the 
alignment of the head was disturbed 
when you were making your tests. Try 
some cross-checks to see if that is the 
case. Also, check the obvious things, such 
as dirt on the head and a worn head-load 
pad. The head-load pad is a little felt pad 
that keeps the disk in contact with the 
head. If it is worn, data may not be prop- 
erly read or written. Check the continui- 
ty of the read head with an ohm meter 
or your digital tester If the head coil is 
open, see if there is a mechanical break 
in the wiring. 

If you are convinced that the head is 
defective, a replacement can be obtained 
from Micro Peripherals inc., 9754 Deer- 
ing Ave., Chatsworth, CA 91311, (213) 
709-4202 .-Steve 



Sharing Files 

Dear Steve, 

We have several Eagle PCs in our 
analytical laboratory, all of which use two 
pieces of software: pfs:File and Lotus 

{continued) 



48 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



COPYRIGHT © 1985 STEVEN A. GARCIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 






u£& ^/*-*w €A+4> 6U^Ck/ 




WORD PROCESSORS AT THE 



Ah, the great ones . . . 

They organized their ideas, their intui- 
tions, their idioms. They set them down, 
sorted them out, arranged them and 
re-arranged them till they came out right. 

They used small scraps of paper to 
record huge hunks of Truth; primitive 
tools to produce profound prose. But 
when the words finally went forth, they 



made indelible marks on all who read 
them. 

The amazing thing is that these mon- 
umental processors of words, did it 
without the benefit of monumental help. 

Like Leading Edge Word Processing: 
the easiest to use, yet most potent 
piece of software ever created to take 
full advantage of all the power inherent, 
but until now un-tapped, in today's 



most sophisticated personal computer. 
(Like the IBM" PC and the even faster 
and more powerful Leading Edge" & 
AT&T.) 

The heart and soul of it is a 51/4" 
floppy disk, elegantly logical instruction 
manual and documentation . . . every- 
thing. And what you end up with is 
word processing at the leading edge. 



LEADING EDGE WORD PROCESSING FROM $100 



IBM IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION 
LEADING EDGE IS A TRADEMARK OF LEADING EDGE PRODUCTS, INCORPORATED 



Inquiry 178 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 49 




MINORITY 

HI-TECH 

INDUSTRIES 



CALL TOLL FREE 
1-800-428-7979 

Call on Other Items Not Listed 



PRINTERS • PLOTTERS 

Epson Can 

Enter 

Sweet-P 6 Pen Plotter $739 

Inforunner 

Riteman Blue Plus 140CPS IBM $272 

Rileman Plus 120CPS 220 

Riteman 15 160CPS 8K Buffer 490 

Riteman Blue Mac 140CPS 383 

Riteman L Q 215 

Juki 

5500 Call 

6100 $400 

6300 Call 

Legend Can 

Okidata Call 

Silver Reed 

EXP400 P or S S240 

EXPS00 P Of S 303 

EXP550 P or S 395 

EXP770 P or S 769 

MODEMS • MONITORS • DRIVES 
Anchor 

Mark XII $235 

Express 1200 Baud (Hayes Exact) 272 

Volksmodem 1200 Baud 1 80 

Hayes 

Smartmodem 1200 $469 

Smartmodem 1200B (IBM) 405 

Novation 

Smart Cat Plus 2400 Baud $695 

Smart Cat Plus 1200 Baud 299 

Access 1-2-3 w/Crosstalk (IBM) 359 

Apple Cat II 1 95 

Zoom 

Netmaster (He. II*) $115 

Amdek Can 

Taxan 

Amber 12' 116 $115 

Amber 12" 122 (IBM) 131 

RGB 12' 425 (IBM) 415 

RGB 12" 440 (IBM-ULTRA-RES) 566 

Persyst Bob Board (for 440) 390 

NEC Call 

Team- Mate 

1110 Internal 3 3MEG Disk (IBM) $698 

COMPUTERS • CARDS 
NEC 

PC-8401A Computer $839 

PC-8201 A Computer 299 

PC-8201A-90 Battery Pack 17 

PC-8206A 32K Ram 173 

PC-8271 A AC Adapter 17 

Paradise 

Modular Graphics Card $269 

MGC with A & B Module 526 

SOFTWARE • DISKETTES 

Enable Can 

LotUS 1-2-3 Call 

Micropro 

WS Pro (IBM) $235 

WS 2000 245 

WS2000- 295 

Practicorp 

Practiword/Base/Calc III (IBM) . $189 

Above each separate 69 

Maxell 

MD-1 (Oty 100) $172 

MD 2 (Qty 100) 220 

MF-t 35" (Oty 100) HP & MAC 303 

Fuji 

MD-1 (Qty 100) $1 59 

MD-2 (Oty 100) 199 

MF1 3 5" (Oty 100) HP & MAC 299 

MD2HD (Qty 100) IBM-AT 546 

SOFTWARE NON-RE TURNABLE 

MINORITY HI-TECH INDUSTRIES 

5021 N. 20th Street, #10261 
Phoenix, Arizona 85064 

Other Information: (602) 890-0596 



• WE BUY • 
SURPLUS GOODS 



Prices reflect 3-5% Cash Discount Shipping on most items 
$3.00 Prices and availability subject to change without 
notice Send cashiers check or money order ... All 
other checks delay shipping 2 weeks ADD #185 



ASK BYTE 



1-2-3. Because each computer is produc- 
ing data that is eventually compiled into 
the same reports, it would be a great time- 
saver to have the systems all sharing a 
common hard disk containing the basic 
software as well as the data files. 

Does this type of data-file sharing re- 
quire an elaborate LAN (local-area net- 
work) setup? It seems that a simple multi- 
ple linking of the PCs to a large hard disk 
would serve our purpose nicely or are we 
greatly oversimplifying the problem? 

We are considering moving up to a true 
relational database-management system 
such as dBASE II (or III) or Condor but are 
still unsure that the file-sharing system we 
have in mind will work. 

Your advice on just how complicated (or 
simple) such a system could be would be 
greatly appreciated and would surely help 
us out of a real quandary. 

Charles Harper 
Dallas. TX 

Your situation appears to be one that 
does not require an LAN— yet! But you 
would probably be better off if you did 
plan for one, especially if you intend to 
move up to a true relational database 
system. Even your simple file sharing 
could cause some potentially disastrous 
problems without the "safety net' of true 
LAN software, I am referring to problems 
that occur when two individuals access 
the same file simultaneously Under cer- 
tain conditions, it is quite probable that 
when two people write to the same file 
at nearly the same time, the resulting file 
will be incorrect from either s point of 
view. Worse yet a condition called "fatal 
embrace" can essentially hang up the en- 
tire system until it is manually reset. 
Another point to remember is that not 
all software is ready for multiple users, 
although most LANs provide some 
mechanism to make it usable while avoid- 
ing the problems I've mentioned. 

Two suppliers featuring LAN hardware 
and software are Corvus Systems and Or- 
chid Technology. Another possibility is to 
purchase an IBM PC AT and IBM's net- 
working software (when it becomes 
available). 

Corvus can be reached at 800-4- 
CORVUS. Orchid Technology is located 
at 47790 Westinghouse Dr., Fremont, CA 
94539, {415) 490-8 5 86. -Steve 

Track Balls Are Better 

Dear Steve, 

I use my Z- 100 almost exclusively for 
word processing and other nonnumerical 



data-manipulation tasks. I find the number 
pad to the right of the keyboard useless 
except for the cursor-control keys, which 
I think are tedious and clumsy. 

What about this: replace the number 
pad with a track ball for cursor control. 
Or even better, an upside-down mouse (I 
never could understand why they had to 
run around on a tabletop— mine is always 
too cluttered) with one or two appropriate 
function buttons. 

Is this possible? Am I the only one who 
would use such a gizmo? Where can I go 
for information on how this might be 
done? 

Michael R. Thomas 
Port Arthur, TX 

Some people who use track balls and 
mice claim that they would never go back 
to using cursor-control keys again. That 
is why several companies are making 
these devices for micros. Your idea to in- 
corporate such a device into a keyboard 
is a good one. but it will have to be done 
by keyboard manufacturers. There is no 
easy or economical way to modify your 
Z-100 keyboard, due to the differing 
natures of keyboards and mice and their 
interaction with a particular program. A 
keyboard sends a unique code to the 
computer for each key as it is pressed. 
A mouse or track ball does not generate 
the same code when it is used, and the 
information it does generate usually 
enters the computer through a different 
port. 

Add-on mice are sold with utility soft- 
ware that translates the signals from the 
mouse into usable information. A word 
processor, for example, has been written 
to accept the control codes generated by 
certain keys (the cursor keys) and always 
expects those codes to come from the 
keyboard. Most current software is not 
written to take advantage of mice or 
track balls and would have to be 
modified to use these devices. Of course, 
Microsoft's Word program was written 
specifically for a mouse. Other programs 
are appearing that also use mice— Steve 

Power-Line Pollution 

Dear Steve, 

1 greatly appreciated your article "Keep 
Power-Line Pollution Out of Your Com- 
puter" (December 1983. page 36). A near- 
by lightning flash once damaged a tran- 
sistor board in my RCA television, 

lb protect my IBM PC, I am using the 
Radio Shack filter strip (cat. #26-1451). 

{continued) 



50 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




IMSI Presents PC Paintbrush 



With PC Paintbrush, you'll now be 
able to do things that you once only 
dreamed about. 

Because, like your dreams, you'll be 
working with a palette of up to 256 
vibrant colors and shades, depend- 
ing on your color card. 

And, as you'll notice, you'll also have 
drawing tools, drop-down menus, and 
a range of brush widths and shapes. 
Plus your choice of mouse or joystick. 

In addition to freeform drawing, you'll 
be able to draw precise triangles, 
rectangles, boxes, circles and ellipses. 

You'll be able to cut, paste, and move 
things around. Even enhance graphs, 
text, and images from other programs 
like Lotus 1 -2-3, Microsoft Word, 
and SuperCalc 3. 

But don't stop with painting. 
PC Paintbrush also gives you an 
electronic type shop to work with. 
Several fonts, from Olde English to 
Computer. Each in seven styles 
'boldface, italics, underline, etc.) and 
?ven sizes. 



All of which makes it great for 
designing everything from fliers and 
report covers to greeting cards and 
birthday banners. (For a wall-sized 
work of art, just print sideways.) 

The possibilities are endless. But the 
best way to see for yourself is to see 
for yourself. Get a demonstration at 
your nearest computer store. 

Then, draw your own conclusions. 




I software publishers Inquiry 352 
INTERNATIONAL MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE, INC. 
633 Fifth Avenue • San Rafael, CA 94901 • 415/454-7101 



RUNS ON: IBM PC/ compatibles, 
and Corona PC, 192K 
RAM. IBM PCjr., and 
Mindset, 256K RAM. 
HP 150, 320K RAM. 
All require DOS 2.0 and 
up and 1 drive. 

MICE: Summagraphics, Mouse 

Systems, Microsoft. 

JOYSTICKS: Any IBM compatible. 

GRAPHICS Amdek, Hercules, IBM, 
CARDS: PCjr., Quadram, Scion, 

Tecmar, STB, Paradise. 

MONITOR: Color or black and white. 

OUTPUT: Printers: IBM /Epson 
graphics, Epson FX-80 
and 100, MX 80 and 100, 
IDS Non-Color, IDS 
Prism Color, NEC 8023, 
C-ltoh8510, Okidata8X 
or 9X series, Radio 
Shack CGP-220, Xerox 
1770, PrintaColor 
TC1040, Quadram 
Quadjet, Transtar Color, 
Diablo C1 50, Tektronix 
4695, HP Thinkjet, Star 
Micronics, Epson JX-80, 
Data Products 8050, 
IBM Color printer. 
Plotters: HP 7475A and 
7470A. 

PC Paintbrush is a registered trademark of ZSOFT CORP. 



FEBRUARY I985 -BYTE 51 




ASK BYTE 



Would you please answer the following 
questions? 

Is it necessary to connect my IBM PC 
Color Display Monitor to the 0.5-A moni- 
tor outlet on the filter, as recommended 
for Radio Shack monitors? 

My PC is connected to the 1.2 5-A pro- 
cessor outlet. Is this all right? 

I could not determine from your article 
where the MOVs are to be soldered on this 
unit. Could you tell me where they go? 

Is it advisable to remove disks from 
drives before turning the main power 
switch on? 

I also need your help on a different 
problem. We have often found that our 
telephone bills contain calls we did not 
make. The telephone company doesn't 
charge us for these calls, but this involves 
an examination of each bill and checking 
with Ma Bell to determine whether we 
made suspect calls. 

The computerized telephones being in- 
troduced are becoming more sophisti- 
cated, but none, as yet, keeps a record of 
outgoing calls. Is it possible to modify 
such a unit or to inexpensively build a 
device that would do this? 

I have one Tbuch-Tbne and two rotary- 
dial telephones, and I would like the new 
unit to be attached to one of them that 
would record outgoing calls on all three. 
Sidney Belman 
Teaneck, Nf 

The Radio Shack filter strip was origi- 
nally designed for the TRS-80 Model I 
computer, and the filters for each outlet 
were designed to handle different types 
of noise. The outlets have current limita- 
tions because the filters have current 
limitations. As long as the current ratings 
are not exceeded, any socket can be 
used. 

The IBM PC is rated at 200 Wat 120 V 
AC. This works out to 1.66 A, which is in 
excess of the 1.2 5-A rating of the filter. 

It is not necessary to remove disks from 
the drives before turning on the PC. It 
was a problem on the TRS-80 Model 1, 
but the PC has an autoboot feature that 
allows the disk to be inserted prior to it 
being turned on. 

Recording outgoing telephone calls can 
be accomplished by a simple pulse- 
counter circuit connected to a computer. 
The computer would poll the line to see 
if a call were being made and then read 
and store the output of the pulse counter. 
A suitable pulse-counter circuit can be 
found in Telephone Accessories You Can 
Build by Jules H. Gilder (Hayden, 1976). 

{continued} 



52 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 194 




C COMPILERS FOR 
PC DOS MS DOS CP M-86 CP M-80 APPLE //. //e, lie 
COMMODORE 64 RADIO SHACK and MACINTOSH 

AZTEC C86 

Optimized "C" compiler for PC DOS, MS DOS & CP/M-86 

PC DOS, UNIX I/O, math, screen, graphics libraries 

8086 assembler, linker & librarian, overlays 

/PRO - library source, debug, ROM, MASM & RMAC, 8087, large model 




NEW C COMPILERS 

AZTEC C68K for MACINTOSH 
VAX cross compilers 

C TOOLS & AIDS 

Z editor (like Vi), C TUTOR compiler, PHACT database, 

C GRAFX, UNI-TOOLS I, QUICK C, BABY BLUE for PC 

to CP/M cross, QUADLINK for PC to APPLE cross 




J^w» el 




AZTEC C II 

Optimized "C" compiler for CP/M, TRSDOS & LDOS 
assembler, linker & librarian, overlays, utilities 

UNIX I/O, math & compact libraries 
/PRO -library source, ROM, M80& RMAC 



AZTEC C65 

"C" compiler for APPLE DOS 3.3, ProDOS or COMMODORE 64 

VED editor, SHELL, UNIX & math libraries 

PRO — library source, ROM, overlays 



CROSS COMPILERS 

Compile & link on HOST — test on TARGET machine 
HOSTS: UNIX, PC DOS, CP/M-86, CP/M-80, VENIX, PCIX, APPLE 
TARGETS: PC DOS, CP/M-86, CPM-80, APPLE, RADIO SHACK, 

COMMODORE 64, other hosts and targets available 




9 








PRICES 








AZTEC C86 C COMPILER 




AZTEC CIIC COMPILER 




AZTEC C CROSS COMPILERS 


TARGETS 


PC DOS MSDOS 


249 


CP/M 


199 


PDP-11 HOST 


2000 


PC DOS 


CP/M-86 


249 


CII/PRO 


349 


PC DOS HOST 


750 


CP/M-86 


BOTH 


399 


/PRO UPGRADE 


150 


CP/M-86 HOST 


750 


CP/M-80 


C86/PRO 


499 


TRS 80 MODEL 3 


149 


CP/M-80 HOST 


750 


APPLE 


PRO UPGRADE 


250 


TRS 80 MODEL 4 


199 


APPLE HOST 


750 


RADIO SHACK 


Z (VI EDITOR) 


125 


TRS 80 PRO (3 & 4) 


299 


VAX HOST 


CALL 


COMMODORE 64 


C TUTOR COMPILER 


99 






MACINTOSH 


CALL 


MACINTOSH 


PHACT DATABASE 


299 


AZTEC C65 C COMPILER 










C GRAFX 


99 


APPLE DOS 3.3 


199 








SUPERDRAW 


299 


PRODOS < 


3ALL 








UNI-TOOLS 1 


99 


E EDITOR 


99 








QUICK C 


125 






TRS 80 RADIO SHACK TRS DOS 


s a trademark of TANDY. 



MANX SOFTWARE SYSTEMS 
Box 55 
Shrewsbury, NJ 07701 
TELEX: 4995812 




APPLE DOS MACINTOSH is a trademark of APPLE, 



TO ORDER OR FOR INFORMATION: 

CALL: 800-221-0440 (outside NJ) 
201-780-4004 (N J) 



Australia: Blue Sky Industries - 2A Blakesley St. — Chatswood NSW 2067 - Australia 61-2419-5579 

England: TAMSYS LTD — Pilgrim House — 2-6 William St. — Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1BA — England — Telephone Windsor 56747 

Shipping: per compiler next day USA $20, 2 days USA $6, 2 days worldwide $75, Canada $10, airmail outside USA & Canada $20 

UNIX is a trademark of Bell Labs. CP M, CP M-60 and CP / M-86 are trademarks of DRI. PC DOS is a trademark of IBM. MS DOS is a trademark of MICROSOFT. 

N.J. residents add 6% sales tax. 



iquiry 195 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 53 



Achieve laboratory automa- 
tion at low cost— connect a 
DAISI™ (Data Acquisition and in- 
strument Systems Interface) to 
your Apple® // or //e Computer. 

DAISI peripheral devices... 

■ Interface with Apple // and 
Apple He Computers and their 
lookalikes 

■ Work with all popular language 
systems 

■ Come with cable, instructional 
diskette and comprehensive 
manual 



DAISI and Apple work together as 
a single system to measure, 
monitor, time, analyze, control and 
record a wide variety of research 
and testing functions. 

DAISI peripherals plug easily into 
any Apple expansion slot, ready 
to be used in chromatography, 
environmental data collection, 
evoked response, gas analysis, 
spectroscopy, signal processing, 
solar heating, mechanical mea- 
surement, structural testing, and 
many more functional applications. 

The AI13 analog-to-digital con- 
verter reads instruments and sen- 
sors and has its own external unit 
for easy cable access. 



DISCOVER NEW 
HORIZONS IN 

AND KEEP YOUR COSTS DOWN TO EARTH 



Here's a rundown on the 

DAISI Peripherals: 

AI13 12-Bit Analog 

Input Interface $550 

■ 16 input channels 

■ 20 microseconds conversion time 
DI09 Digital Interface 

with Timers $330 

■ timing and interrupt capability 

■ direct connection to BCD digits, 
switches, relays 

AO03 8-Bit Analog 

Output Interface . .$195-5437 

■ up to 8 independent channels 

■ range and offset adjustable 
AI02 8-Bit Analog 

Input Interface $299 

■ 16 input channels 

■ 70 microseconds conversion time 

Plus the SC14 system for front- 
end signal conditioning and 
amplification, the UI16 isolation 
system for AC or DC power input 
or output, and more . . . 

(Designed and manufactured in the USA) 



AND NOW . . . AMPRIS 

An easy add-on to Applesoft® 

BASIC. 

With AMPRIS you can: 

■ Read and store analog and 

digital inputs 

■ Send out analog and digital 

outputs 

■ Set, read and control the DI09 

counters 

■ Set, read and control the DI09 

shift registers 

■ Make full use of the DI09 inter- 

rupt capability 

Using AMPRIS is as easy as in- 
serting an ampersand (&) com- 
mand where you would normally 
insert an Applesoft command. For 
more information about the com- 
plete line of DAISI peripheral 
devices and the full spectrum of 
their applications, write or phone: 



Interactive Structures, Inc. 
146 Montgomery Avenue 
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 
Telephone: (215) 667-1713 



ASK BYTE 



A simpler circuit, not requiring a com- 
puter, would consist of a tape recorder 
to record the pulses. The tape could then 
be played back through the pulse 
counter to see what numbers were 
dialed. The tape recorder could be con- 
trolled by the pulse detector— Steve 

Computerized Home 



Dear Steve, 

I am planning to build a house and 
would like to provide for computer con- 
trol in my home Can you offer any sug- 
gestions? 

Paul W. Marsh 
Urbana, IL 

With the almost daily announcement 
of some computerized device, it makes 
sense to provide a means for installation 
in the home. However, it is difficult to 
know what devices will ultimately be 
required. 

I will be presenting a series of three ar- 
ticles, beginning in April, covering the 
construction of the Circuit Cellar home- 
control system— Steve ■ 

Between Circuit Cellar Feedback, personal ques- 
tions, and Ask BYTE, I receive hundreds of letters 
each month. As you might have noticed, at the end 
of Ask BYTE I have listed my own paid staff. We 
answer many more letters than you see published, 
and it often takes a lot of research, 

\f you would like to share the knowledge you have 
on microcomputer hardware with other BYTE 
readers, joining the Circuit CellariAsk BYTE staff 
would give you the opportunity. We're looking for 
additional researchers to answer letters and gather 
Circuit Cellar project material. 

\f you're interested, let us hear from you. Send 
a short letter describing your areas of interest and 
qualifications to Steve Ciarcia, POB 582, Glaston- 
bury, CT 06033. 



IN ASK BYTE. Steve Ciarcia answers questions 
on any area of microcomputing. The most rep- 
resentative questions received each month will be 
answered and published. Do you have a nag- 
ging problem? Send your inquiry to 

Ask BYTE 

do Steve Ciarcia 

POB 582 

Glastonbury. CI 06033 
Due to the high volume of inquiries, personal 
replies cannot be given. All letters and photo- 
graphs become the property of Steve Ciarcia and 
cannot be returned. Be sure to include "Ask 
BYTE" in the address. 

The Ask BYTE staff includes manager Harv 
Weiner and researchers Bill Curlew. Larry 
Bregoli, Dick Sawyer, and ieannette Dojan. 



54 BYTE • FEBRUARY I985 



Inquiry 1 51 






* / J. . .f 






¥w^ i 



Mfl| 






Jills ,-ii'V 



INPUT/OUTPUT TECHNOLOGY, INC. 

25327 Avenue Stanford, Unit: 113, Valencia, CA 91355 • [805] 257-1000 

Uncompromising Additions to your S-100/IEEE-696 BUS 




DUAL GPIB-488 INTERFACE 
BOARD 

A Stand-Alone, Independently Controlled 
Dual Channel IEEE-4BB I/O Processor. In- 
terface Activity Modes for Controller-in- 
Charge, Controller Assigned or Terminal 
Bus Stave, and all Interface Functions are 
handled transparent to Host System CPU 
through an on-board CPU and DMA con- 
troller. User Friendly operation. 

AST, P/N 5274B-800-102 




RGB COLOR GRAPHICS BOARD 

Programmable resolution up Co 512 x 512 
pixels with A local video plenes end on-board 
graphics processor, Color mapper allows 16 
colors from a palette of 4G96. Light pen 
input. Plus more ... 
AST, P/INJ 52748-300-101 




12-BIT A-D-A CONVERTER 
BOARD 

8 Channel A-D: 12 rnicrosec. Conversion. 
5DKHz Sample Rate, Programmable 
Gains, Offset and Diff. /Single Modes. 
8 Channel D-A: 2 rnicrosec. Settling, 
Bipolar V or Unipolar I Output. Program- 
mable Reference levels, Dual-Ported Chan- 
nel Refresh RAM. IB/B-Bit Data 
Tranefere via I/O or Memory Mapped 
AST, P/N 52748-900-101 




BAR CODE PROCESSOR BOARD 

The BerTender is a stand-alone I/O Pro- 
cessor that reeds end prints most common 
Bar Codes. Includes bi-directional reading, 
wand interface, clock/calender with battery. 
Extensive documentation and software. 
A&T52748-500-101 Without Wand 
AST,B2748-B00-201 With Wand 




PERIPHERAL SUPPORT 
BOARD 

Two Serial SYNC/ASYNC Ports with 
RS-232, TTL or Current Loop Outputs, 
three 8-Bit Parallel Ports, three Timers, 
Real Time Clock/Calendar and Response 
Programmable Interrupt Controller. Small 
Proto Area with +5 and ±12v. 
AST, P/N 52748-150-101 




MULTI-PURPOSE 
PROTOTYPING KIT 

Industrial Quality with Plated-Thru holes for 
Wire-Wrap or Solder projects. Complete 
with + 5, ± 12v Regulators, Bus Bar, Filter 
Capacitors, and Manual. 

P/N 52748-450 Inquiry 1 48 



ALSO AVAILABLE: MULTI-FUNCTION I/O BOARD, SMART PROTOTYPING KIT, 128Kx8/64Kx16 STATIC RAM MODULE 



DhJS SUBJECT to CHANGE without nc 



A LOCKED DOOR. A DEAD MAN 

ABdl2Ffauo»«*«ttei ' 





<r% 




AND NOW FOR SOMETHING 
INCOMPLETELY DIFFERENT! 



Incomplete, yes. 
But it's not just because 
we're always bringing 
out new stories in the 
Infocom interactive fic- 
tion collection. Nor is it 
simply due to the fact 
that with all the writing 
and re-writing, honing 
and perfecting that we 
put into every one of 
our stories, our work is 
seemingly never done. 

The real reason is: an 
Infocom work of fiction 
can never be complete until you 
become a part of it. 

You see, as hard as we work at 
perfecting our stories, we always 
leave out one essential element - 
the main character. And that's 
where you enter in. 

Once you've got Infocom's 
interactive fiction in your 
computer, you experience 
something akin to waking up 
inside a novel. You find yourself 
at the center of an exciting plot 
that continually challenges you 




In CUTTHROATS™ the plot 
involves a motley band of 
hardbitten salts who get wind 
of a shipwreck laden with 
sunken treasure near the 
remote island where you live. 
In exchange for your diving 
skills, they offer you a piece 
of the action. Your challenge: 
survive them, the perils of 
the deep, and escape with 
the treasure and your life. 
Good luck! 



THE HITCHHIKER'S 
GUIDE TO THE GALAXY™ 
by Douglas Adams is the 
most mind-boggling story 
we've ever published. In the 
person of Arthur Dent, you'll 
chortle as your planet is 
demolished. You'll yelp with 
laughter as your life is 
threatened by a galaxy of 
horrors. Your sides will 
positively split as you search 
the universe for. . . well, 
you'll find out. Maybe. 



In SUSPECT™ our newest 
mystery thriller, you're a 
reporter who gets the scoop 
on the society event of the 
year— the murder of a 
Maryland Blue Blood at a 
fancy costume ball. Great! 
Except you're the prime 
suspect. And if you can't 
find the real killer, your 
next by-line could be in the 
obituaries. 



with surprising twists, unique 
characters (many of whom 
possess extraordinarily developed 
personalities), and original, logical, 
often hilarious puzzles. Communi- 
cation is carried on in the same 
way as it is in a novel-in prose. 
And interaction is easy-you type 
in full English sentences. 

But there is this key differ- 
ence between our tales and 
conventional novels: Infocom's 
interactive fiction is active, not 
passive. The course of events is 
shaped by the actions you choose 
to take. And you enjoy enormous 
freedom in your choice of actions - 



you have hundreds, even 
thousands of alternatives 
at every step. In fact, an 
Infocom interactive story 
is roughly the length of 
a short novel in content, 
but because you're 
actively engaged in the 
plot, your adventure 
can last for weeks and 
months. 

In other words, only 
you can complete the 
works of Infocom, Inc. 
Because they're stories 
that grow out of your imagination. 

Find out what it's like to get 
inside a story. Get one from 
Infocom. Because with Infocom's 
interactive fiction, there's room 
for you on every disk. 

inrocom 

Infocom, Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 

For your: Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, CP/M8", DECmate. 
DEC Rainbow, DEC RT-U. IBM PC* and PCjr, KAYPRO II, 
MS-DOS 2.0,* NEC APC, NEC PC-8000. Osborne, Tandy 2000, 
TI Professional, TI 99/4A, TRS-80 Models I and III. 
'Use the IBM PC version for your Compaq, and the MS-DOS 2.0 
version for your Wang or Mindset. 

CUTTHROATS and SUSPECT are trademarks of Infocom, Inc. 
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is a trademark 
of Douglas Adams. 






iquiry 145 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 57 



Master Piece 
puts the power at 
your fingertips. 




Master Piece is the most versatile 
accessory ever made for IBM Per- 
sonal Computers Master Piece 
combines the four most popular 
IBM® accessories into one elegant 
accessory offering the most con- 
venience and best value available. 

A SWIVEL BASE 

The Master Piece has a swivel so 
you can adjust the viewing angle of 
your monitor with just the touch of 
a finger Since the Master Piece 
swivels with your monitor, its 
switches and static control are in 
front of you at all times 

FIVE SWITCHED OUTLETS 

Stop searching for outlets to plug 
in your peripherals, Master Piece's 
five outlets put your entire system 
at your fingertips. Power up with 
the "Master" switch, then use the 
individual switches to control your 
peripherals. Touch the "Master" 
switch to shut down and you'll 
never accidentally leave your pe- 
ripherals running overnight. 

SURGE SUPPRESSION 
CIRCUITRY 

Power surges, spikes and line noise 
are responsible for 70-90% of all 
PC malfunctions. They can wipe out 
memory in your PC, taking hours of 
hard work with them. They can zap 
your delicate chips, sending your 
PC in for costly repairs Master 
Piece clips surges and spikes at a 
safe level. You end up with an IBM 
that's more accurate and reliable. 

STATIC PROTECTION 

Even you are a threat to your IBM 
During the day you build up static 
charges — as much a threat to your 
PC as surges and spikes. Master 
Piece offers an elegant alternative 
to expensive and unsightly static 
mats. Just touch its nameplate be- 
fore you begin work and static 
charges are grounded. 

If you bought these accessories 
separately, you could spend more 
than $200. Master Piece's recom- 
mended retail price is under $150. 
Available now from IBM dealers 
everywhere. 



Inquiry 169 

,, u d KENSINGTON v 
^MICROWARE 

251 Park Avenue South 

New York, NY 10010 

(212) 475-5200 Telex: 467383 KML NY 



Trademarks Master Piece Kensington Microware Ltd 
IBM international Business Machines 
© 1984 Kensington Microware Ltd 



CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS 



• VISIT WITH APPLE 
USERS— Ideas, information, 
and the latest computer 
news are available to 
members of the Arkon Info- 
system, a 24-hour 300-bps 
bulletin-board system 
operating in Toronto, 
Canada. Upload, download, 
electronic mail, and public 
messages are a few of its 
features. Also included are 
20 conferences, 10 mega- 
bytes of storage, and on-line 
help. The annual fee for 
using the system is $19.95, 
but inquirers can log on 
under the "Guest" user 
function. Questions about 
the system can be sent 
through the (F)eedback-to- 
sysop function of the Arkon 
Infosystem at (416) 593- 
7460. Other details are 
available from David 
Fingold, Arkon Infosystem, 
409 Queen St. W, Toronto, 
Ontario M5V 2A5, Canada, 
(416) 593-9653. 

• CHAMELEON ADVOCATE 

The National Chameleon 
Users Group (NACHUG) pro- 
duces a newsletter, The 
80/88 National Newsletter, that 
contains hardware and soft- 
ware reviews, updates, and a 
users forum. Member dis- 
counts are provided on pe- 
ripherals and accessories. 
Membership is $12 a year. 
Contact Steven Bender, 
NACHUG, POB 28360, 
Queens Village, NY 11428. 

• SIG, NEWS FOR PUBLIC- 
DOMAIN SOFTWARE 

PC-SIG News, a newsletter 
from the PC Software In- 
terest Group (PC-SIG), is 
devoted to public-domain or 
user-supported software for 
the IBM PC and compatible 
computers. It lists the disks 
in the library, updates recent 



disk arrivals, and encourages 
patches and feedback from 
users. The members have 
compiled a directory with a 
subject index and listings. 
Contact the PC Software In- 
terest Group, Suite 130, 
1556 Halford Ave., Santa 
Clara, CA 95051. 

• C-CLUB IN RIVER CITY 

The River City Commodore 
Club is a nonprofit organiza- 
tion that meets twice a 
month to promote interest 
in all Commodore com- 
puters. The group features a 
large club library, help 
groups, and basic and ad- 
vanced tutorials. For details, 
write River City Commodore 
Club, POB 4298, North Little 
Rock, AR 72116. 

• COMPUTER AND SOFT- 
WARE LAW-The Center for 
Computer/Law, a nonprofit 
educational institution, pro- 
vides research and educa- 
tional services in computer 
law. The Center produces 
Computer/law journal an inter- 
national journal on the legal 
issues of computers, tele- 
communications, and the in- 
formation industries. It also 
publishes a quarterly law 
review, Software law journal, 
that contains scholarly ar- 
ticles from computer law ex- 
perts, as well as a bibliog- 
raphy of software law and a 
directory of recent cases. 
Contact the Center for Com- 
puter/Law, POB 3 549, Man- 
hattan Beach. CA 90266. 



• MANY SHARED 
BENEFITS-The First 
Attache/2001 User Group 
(FAUG) produces a monthly 
newsletter titled Where It's 
Att. Members meet quarter- 
ly, have access to public- 
domain library disks, and 
receive support by tele- 
phone and networking. The 
club can be reached on 
CompuServe at 70346,63. 
Annual dues are $3 5. Con- 
tact Charles Raisch, FAUG, 
1827 Haight, San Francisco, 
CA 94117-2791, (415) 
221-3415. 

• NO TIME LIMITS SET 
YET— In northern Idaho a 
24-hour bulletin-board 
system called I -PACE fea- 
tures Atari downloads. Pass- 
words are not required, no 
time limits are set, and peo- 
ple add to it frequently. The 
BBS number is (208) 
772-9421. Contact Robert 
Marshall, POB 5123, Coeur 
DAlene, ID 83814, (208) 
772-5922. 

• CHRISTIAN COM- 
PUTERISTS— Christian pro- 
grams, a member's ex- 
change, a monthly newslet- 
ter, and discounts on com- 
puter supplies are available 
from the Elect Christian 
Computer Club. For details 
and a free issue of the 
newsletter, E^C Electletter. 
write to the Elect Christian 
Computer Club, Department 
LAI, POB 31022, Chicago, IL 
60631-0022. 



CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS is a forum for letting BYTE readers know what 
is happening in the microcomputing community. Emphasis is given to elec- 
tronic bulletin-board services, club-sponsored classes, community-help projects, 
field trips, and other activities outside of routine meetings. Of course, we will 
continue to list new clubs, their addresses and contact persons, and other in- 
formation of interest. To list events on schedule, we must receive your infor- 
mation at least four months in advance. Send information to BYTE. Clubs 
& Newsletters. POB 372, Hancock. NH 03449. 



• TRIANGLE dBASE USERS 
GROUP— Members of a 

users group for dBASE II 
and III meet at 7:30 p.m. on 
the second Wednesday of 
each month in the Dreyfus 
Auditorium of the Research 
Triangle Institute in Research 
Triangle Park, North Caro- 
lina. A bimonthly newsletter 
is available on CompuServe 
(70156,404), and a public- 
domain library of applica- 
tion disks is planned. An- 
nual dues are $10. Send a 
self-addressed, stamped 
envelope for a sample news- 
letter to Rich Slatta, Triangle 
dBASE Users Group, 2618 
Davis St., Raleigh, NC 
27608, (919) 782-8926. 

• NEWSLETTER WITH 
FOCUS— Users of Lotus 
1-2-3 and Symphony can 
focus on applications with 
learn Mode, a monthly 
newsletter from Systems 
Consulting. Among its fea- 
tures are book reviews, solu- 
tions to problems, questions 
and answers, and updates 
on Lotus products. Article 
contributions are welcome. 
Learn Mode is $30 for 12 
issues. Request a com- 
plimentary copy of the first 
issue from Systems Con- 
sulting, POB 982, Palo Alto, 
CA 94302, (415) 326-8605. 

• FRIENDLY USERS 

Business computer users in 
the Chicago metropolitan 
area form the Tandy Busi- 
ness Users Group, which 
meets on the third Wednes- 
day of each month. The 
monthly newsletter, T-BUG. 
contains a schedule of com- 
ing events, workshops, and 
forums, profiles, meeting 
notes, news releases, and 
product announcements. An- 
{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 59 



a 



COMPUTERBANC 



CET SERIOUS. STOP PAYING HIGH PRICES NOW! 

THOUSANDS OF AVAILABLE ITEMS. CALL FOR COMPLETE PRICING. 



SYSTEMS 

IBM PC 

256K. Two 360KB Disk Drives, Color 
Graphics/Monochrome Graphics board. 
Parallel Printer Port, Monochrome Display 
(Amber/Green), DOS 2.1. 
LIST PRICE $2950.00 — ONLY $2005.00 

SUPER XT 10 Meg Upgrade $2795.00 

IBM AT 11% OFF 

IBM SOFTWARE 

LOTOS 1-2-3 $295.00 

LOTOS Symphony 449.99 

MICROPRO Wordstar 249.00 

ASCII Esprms For IBM 125.00 

Wordstar Professional 359.00 

Infostar 249.00 

Multimate 269.00 

MICROSOFT Word 229.00 

Word W/Mouse 279.00 

Multiplan 139.00 

Project 159.00 

ASHTON TATE Friday 179.00 

dBASE II 280.00 

dBASE ffl 349.00 

Framework 359.00 

UFETREE SOFTWARE Volkswriter 119.00 

Volkswriter Deluxe 169.00 

FOX ft GBII.BR. Quickcode 139.00 

dUtil 59.00 

dGraph 149.00 

MICRORJM Rbase.4000 295.00 

PFS Write 89.00 

file 89.00 

Report 89.00 

Proof 79.00 

Access 79.00 

ENERGRAPHICS 269 00 

NORTON UTILITIES 59.00 

IBM HARDWARE 

AST Six Pack Plus 64K 259.00 

MegaPlusD.: 259.00 

PC Net 1 Starter Kh 830.00 

QUADRAM Quadboard 0-K 219.00 

Quadcolor I or Microfazer 64K 205.00 

QuadUnk 479.00 

MJCROSCIENCE 

10MB Winchester 799.00 

HERCULES Mono Graphics 329.00 

Color Card 199.00 

PLANTRONICS Colorplus 389.00 

STB Rio plus 64K 249.00 

Super Rio 259.00 

Graphix +D NEW 309.00 

TEAC 55B 124.00 

55F 180.00 

TANDON TMlbai ! 179.00 

IBM Floppy 1.2 Meg CALL 

TALL GRASS 12MB W/Tape .... 2799.00 

RAM 64K upgrade 35.00 

RAM 256K upgrade 26.00 

MOUSE SYSTEMS Optical Mouse ... 189 
ALSO - XCOMP. PERSYST, ORCHID, 
TITAN AND OTHERS 

PRINTERS LETTER QUALITY 

BROTHER HR-15 375.00 

HR-25 629.00 

HR-35 859.00 

JUKI 6100 429.00 

NBC 2030 659.00 

2050 799.00 

3530 1229.00 

3550 1539.00 



TELEX #550757/ ANSWER BACK— COMPUTERBANK UD 



PRINTERS DOT MATRIX 

STAR MICRONICS Gemini 10X . . . 259.00 

Gemini 15X 389.00 

EPSON RXnSO F/T 329.00 

FX-80 349.00 

FX-100 649.00 

LQ1500 1299.00 

OKIDATA 92A .389.00 

93A 649.00 

84A 949.00 

PANASONIC 1091 CALL 

TOSHIBA 1350-P 1399.00 

MONITORS 

AMDEK 300 129.00 

300A 145.00 

310A 169.00 

Color 1+ 269.00 

Color n - 459.00 

TAXAN Composite Amber 119.00 

121/122 149.00 

420 (RGB) 439.00 

415 (RGB) 489.00 

PRINCETON GRAPHICS HX- 1 2 . . . 469.00 

SR-12 625.00 

MAX-12 189.00 

ZENITH ZVM-122 Amber 95.00 

ZVM-123 Green 95.00 

NEC 1201 Hi Res Green 125.00 

1205 Hi Res Amber 125.00 

1206 Green 85,00 

JC1215 Composite Color w/audio . 215.00 
JC1216 Color RGB 334.00 

MODEMS 

HAYES 1200 469.00 

1200B 369.00 

300 199.00 

Micromodem //e 219.00 

ANCHOR Mark X 109.00 

Mark XII 249.00 

Volksmodem 58.00 

NOVATION Smart Cat Plus CALL 

Access 1-2-3 419.00 

Apple Cat Q 239.00 

j_Ca t 99.00 

U.S. ROBOTICS PC Modem ".'.'.'.'.'. 36s!o0 

Password 349.00 

PROMETHEUS Promodem 1200. . 329.00 

APPLE PRODUCTS 

MICRO SCI AZ drives 179.00 

RANA ELTTE 1 219.00 

TEAC drive 189.00 

APPLE Compatible drive 169.00 

WESFER Interface 69.00 

BUFFERED 16K 139.00 

SYSTEM SAVER Fan 69.00 

MICROSOFT Premium //e 279.00 

Softcard CP/M 29.00 

Multiplan 129.00 

MAC Multiplan (Macintosh) 129.00 

Basic (Macintosh) 109.00 

AFRICORN Serial Card 69.00 

2-80 Card 59.00 

ASCII Express Professional 89.00 

MAXELL S/S 19.00 

D/S 27.00 

KOALA Touch Tablet 79.00 

HAYES Mach ffl JoyStick 39.00 

THUNDERCLOCK 119.00 

MOaONGBOARD CALL 

APPLBMOUSE H 129.00 

VTOBX Ultraterm 179.00 

80 COLUMN/64K Interface //e only 99.00 
80 COLUMN Card 0+ only 59.00 

WE SUPPORT THESE FINE SYSTEMS: 
Apple. Compag, IBM. S*ovo and many 



Q 



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Orders Only 

800/332-BANC 



OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA 



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16783 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, CA 92647 

714/841-6160 Inquiry 70 



accompanied bv RMA number f 



is for 30 day* VWthm this penod. defective merchandise returns n- 



Cash or Cashiers check is required on C O D orders GaWomla resdents 



shipping T 

add 6% sal 



CLUBS & NEWSLETTERS 



t Prices subjeci to change without nonce 



nual dues are $3 5 and in- 
clude a one-year subscrip- 
tion to the newletter. For an 
application and further 
details, write Carlos Hidalgo, 
T-BUG, 311 Longview RcL 
Waukegan, 1L 60087, (312) 
623-9661. 

• EXCHANGE ATARI NEWS 

The Atari Computer Club of 
the Palm Beaches produces 
a monthly newsletter, The 
Pokey Press, that features club 
news, pen pals, participating 
businesses, news from 
shows, and software and 
product reviews, and 
welcomes the exchange of 
newsletters with other Atari 
groups. Contact Jim Wood- 
ward, Atari Computer Club 
of the Palm Beaches, Apt. 
B-101, 15993 Southwest 8th 
Ave., Delray Beach. FL 
33444. 

• SPECIALIZED NEWS FOR 
ACADEME— Theories in the 
field of word processing are 
addressed in Research in Word 
Processing Newsletter, a nine- 
month publication from the 
Liberal Arts Department of 
the South Dakota School of 
Mines and Technology. It 
functions as a clearinghouse 
of information relevant to 
computer-based writing in- 
struction at all educational 
levels and contains original 
research, article abstracts, 
bibliographies, and software 
evaluations. Article submis- 
sions are welcome. Contact 
The Editors, Research in Word 
Processing Newsletter, Liberal 
Arts Department, South 
Dakota School of Mines and 
Technology, Rapid City, SD 
57701-3995. 

• FOR NEW VENTURES 

A monthly newsletter, 
CompuVenture, contains soft- 
ware reviews and informa- 
tion on how to make money 
using your microcomputer. 
Subscriptions are $20 a 
year. Contact Microcomputer 
Software & Consultants. POB 
1039, Mount Vernon, NY 
10550, 



• MORE FOR ENCORE 
Encore 100 and 200, two 
software-based portable net- 
work analyzers that are 
designed for data-communi- 
cations monitoring, diag- 
nostics, and emulations, now 
have a users group spon- 
sored by its manufacturer, 
Digitech Industries. A 
newsletter, Encore Com- 
municator, serves to solve 
user problems or print user 
programs. Application engi- 
neers answer hardware and 
software questions and 
supply needed information. 
To receive a business-reply 
registration form, contact 
Joseph Luciano, Digitech In- 
dustries Inc., 66 Grove St., 
POB 547, Ridgefield, CT 
06877, (203) 438-3731. 

• COMMODORE IN SILVER 

The Silver State Commodore 
Users Group of Las Vegas, 
Nevada, meets at 7:30 p.m. 
Wednesday nights at the 
local YMCA. The $4 per 
month dues entitle members 
to vote and to copy any of 
3 5 public-domain programs. 
Though most members use 
Commodores, the group is 
not limited to a particular 
computer. The club offers 
ongoing classes in BASIC, 
program demonstrations, 
and assistance. Contact 
Karen Douglas, Silver State 
Commodore Users Group, 
POB 81075, Las Vegas, NV 
89180. 

• FOR THE FORTUNE 

Users of the multiuser 
Fortune 32:16 can join 
/u/fortune, a group that 
meets in Cambridge. Massa- 
chusetts, on the first 
Thursday of each month. 
Meetings include presenta- 
tions of new software, small 
group discussions, and user 
support. A monthly newslet- 
ter is produced. For com- 
plete information, contact 
Josh Lobel or Mark 
Palmerino, /u/fortune, Suite 
28, 20A Prescott St., Cam- 
bridge, MA 02138. (617) 
876-4763. ■ 



• Copvritfrt 1964 COMPUTERBANC Al R^nts Hesevcd 



When all else 

fails. 



Most diskettes are pretty good. 

And some of the time that's good enough. 

But next time you throw away one that won't 
format or you lose the cash flow analysis you've 
been working on for weeks, make a mental note to 
try a box of Dysan diskettes. 

They're better. 

So much better, in fact, that major computer 
manufacturers put their names on our diskettes 
and sell them as their own. 

Without fear of failure. 

You see, we make our diskettes better with 
advanced manufacturing processes that our 
competitors have yet to figure out. 

And we test them. 

Almost to the point of absurdity. 

Dysan diskettes are inspected almost a hundred 
times as they come down the line. They're tested 
to performance levels way beyond industry 
standards. And each one is certified to be 100 
percent error free. 

Then our corporate quality assurance fanatics 
come along and check them all over again. For all 



Dysan is a registered trademark of Dysan Corporation @ 1984, Dysan Corporation. 



the same things. Plus some things only they 
understand. 

When we're done, you get exactly what you 
wanted in the first place. Diskettes that will record 
and retain all your data all the time. 

We don't expect you to keep all that in your 
mental note, but we would like you to remember 
your last diskette failure. 

And when your computer products dealer 
offers you another box of pretty good diskettes, 
tell him you're ready for something better. 

Dysan. 

Call toll free for the name of the Dysan dealer 
nearest you. (800) 551-9000. 

Dysan Corporation, 5201 Patrick Henry 
Drive, P.O. Box 58053, Santa Clara, CA 95050, 
(408)988-3472. 

Dysaw 

Somebody has to be better 
than everybody else. 

Inquiry 98 



Flexible Diskette 




s 



•II 



►neror 



later, you'll have 

to face 

this computer 

'ilem. 



i 



PCs and other * teosion^J^a^ 
contribute ?°^^ys^ s> *^ 
\etns ^Smf^^ 

Better sooner. 



Better Sooner. 

Computers don't ever get 
headaches. 

But the people who use 
computers do. 

Quite clearly, as PC Magazine 
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Inquiry 108 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 63 




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BOOK REVIEWS 



ALAN TURING: 
THE ENIGMA 
Andrew Hodges 
Simon & Schuster 
New York: 1983 
600 pages, $24.95 

COMPUTER GRAPHICS 

PROGRAMMING 

Giinter Enderle, Klaus 

Kansy, and Gunther Pfaff 

Springer-Verlag 

New York: 1984 

560 pages, $39 

DATA STRUCTURES AND 
PROGRAM DESIGN 
Robert L. Kruse 
Prentice-Hall 

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1984 
36 pages, $29.95 



ALAN TURING: 
THE ENIGMA 
Reviewed by 
G. Michael Vose 

And thus it was that . . . 
thinking in his spare 
time, an English homo- 
sexual atheist mathematician . . . conceived of the com- 
puter." This startling claim is at the heart of the first ma- 
jor biography of Alan Mathison TUring (1912-1954), a man 
whose legacies include the TUring machine and the Hiring 
test. Andrew Hodges has uncovered the genius of this 
complicated man and recorded the evolution of his ideas 
within the unique context of the tumultuous times in which 
he lived. Hodges's fascinating study adds new informa- 
tion to the history of computer science, counters its all- 
American bias, and claims a rightful place for the eccen- 
tric Alan TUring. 

Revising history is a risky endeavor. The task demands 
rigorous scholarship and the courage to successfully 
challenge the assumptions of the past. Hodges's Alan 
TUring: The Enigma brims with painstaking research and em- 
phatic interpretation. No less an authority than the New 




York Times (December 4, 
1983, section 7, page 80) 
has labeled this volume a 
work of major literary 
importance. 

This praise derives from 
the wealth of ideas ex- 
posed and illuminated in 
the book, from lucid discus- 
sions of complex mathe- 
matics to revelations about 
the secret cryptography 
work accomplished by Hir- 
ing and others during World 
War II. Through this work, 
the fortunes of war con- 
tributed significantly to the 
creation of the British 
computer. 

In Bletchley Park, a 
London suburb, the cryp- 
tography group worked to 
decipher codes generated 
by the German army's 
Enigma machine. While 
Turing's inventiveness was 
instrumental in breaking 
these codes, his life was full 
of naive contradictions, 
similar in nature to the 
Nazis' refusal to believe 
that the codes of their 
cipher machine could ever be broken. 

Hodges is sympathetic to the idea that the Allied vic- 
tory in WWII hinged on the battle in the Atlantic in which 
Hitler's U-boats tried to isolate Britain by cutting off her 
sea supply routes to the West. Here, the breaking of the 
Enigma codes made the difference between victory and 
defeat because deciphering German naval messages 
helped transatlantic convoys avoid the U-boat wolfpacks. 
But it is Hodges's contention that TUring came up with the 
major formulations of modern computer science that 
makes this biography so significant. 

Of course, the Universal machine (now known as the Tur- 
ing machine) that TUring conceived in 1935 and described 
in a 1936 paper called "On Computable Numbers, with 
an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem" has rightful- 

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BOOK REVIEWS 



ly taken its place as a seminal computer science idea. It 
was central to Turing's lifelong inquiry into the idea that 
machines could be intelligent. However, his later, little- 
publicized ideas about how computing machines might 
work form the bulk of the biographer's most interesting 
revisions to the historical record. 

During his Enigma-deciphering work, TUring designed 
and helped construct a machine called the Bom be an 
electromechanical device that calculated the permutations 
of the Enigma's enciphering rotors. It used relays as 
switches and was a specialized, high-speed calculating 
machine. Turing's work on the Bombe enabled others in 
the Bletchley Park group to develop the Colossus, the 
machine that some historians consider the first computer. 
The Colossus began service in December of 1943, but Tur- 
ing played no part in its design or construction. In con- 
ceiving and building the Bombe, however, and later 
machines like the Delilah (a telephone-voice enciphering 
device), TUring began fermenting the ideas that he would 
later develop to construct a version of his Universal 
machine. 

The distillation of these ideas appeared in "Proposed 
Electronic Calculator," a late-1945 report prepared in con- 
junction with his new responsibilities as senior scientific 
officer with the Mathematics Division of the National 
Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Bushy Park, Teddington. In 
this report, TUring laid out plans to construct a machine 
later named the ACE (automatic computing engine), a proj- 
ect in response to the American scientific community's 
efforts to build a digital computing machine. The plan 
outlined the construction of a true automatic electronic 
digital computer with internal program storage, a fully devel- 
oped scheme broader in scope than those conceived by 
John von Neumann and others. But to TUring it was an old 
idea. 

An Innovator 

The stored-program concept was a natural one to TUring 
because it was essentially the same idea that he 
developed in connection with the 'Instructions on paper 
tape" idea that was central to his Universal machine. The 
ACE report described how the stored-program concept 
would apply to a computer. The report's discussion of how 
the machine's instruction tables would be created leads 
to Hodges's claim that TUring ". . . invented the art of com- 
puter programming." This art, in Turing's words, would find 
that 'Instruction tables will have to be made up by math- 
ematicians with computing experience and perhaps a cer- 
tain puzzle-solving ability" TUring later wrote routines, in 
conjunction with ). H. Wilkinson (see the interview on page 
177), to perform floating-point arithmetic that enabled pro- 
grammers to multiply two numbers without knowing what 
was really happening inside the machine thus presaging 
the development of high-level languages. His notes for the 
ACE report talk about "subsidiary" routines and about 
"burying" and "unburying" an area of memory contain- 
ing information vital to a program returning from a sub- 



66 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 40 



BOOK REVIEWS 



sidiary routine. (This is known today as "pushing" and 
"popping" the stack.) He even envisioned the use of 
remote terminals, claiming that "It would be quite possi- 
ble to arrange to control a distant computer by means 
of a telephone line" 

Although he left the NPL before the ACE machine was 
built because he was unable to deal with the politics of 
bureaucracy Hiring nonetheless walked through the front 
door of British computing. Taking up the post of Deputy 
Director, Royal Society Computing Laboratory at Man- 
chester University he arrived in time to witness the fru- 
ition of the other English attempt to build a computer. 
Driven by the efforts of M.H.A. Newman (a former pro- 
fessor of Turing's and the first reader of "Computable 
Numbers") and Cambridge mathematician MV. Wilkes, the 
university assembled a team of wartime electronics engi- 
neers and Bletchley Park mathematicians to work on de- 
veloping a computing machine The major difference be- 
tween the Manchester machine and Taring's ACE was the 
type of memory used. The ACE used acoustic delay lines 
made of thin tubes filled with mercury, capped on each 
end by piezoelectric crystals. A signal traveling between 
crystals through the mercury was "stored" for a microsec- 
ond. The Manchester machine used electrostatic tubes, 
primarily cathode-ray tubes that stored information as a 
charged phosphor refreshed every millisecond, on the 
tube's screen. 

Less encumbered by bureaucratic entanglements than 
the NPL, the university's computer, later called the Mark 
1, executed its first program on June 21, 1948. Taring 
became a programmer of the Mark 1; for the rest of his 
life, which presumably ended by his own hand a scant six 
years later, he worked on research that interested him but 
led to no significant discoveries. But during this time he 
exchanged ideas with other Manchester faculty members, 
including Michael Polyani, whose disdain for the idea of 
intelligent machines gave rise to the debate that spurred 
Turing's creation of the test that later carried his name. 
The TUring test was put forth in an article called "Com- 
puting Machinery and Intelligence" in the October 1950 
issue of Mind. Its now-famous central thesis was that if a 
machine's response to interrogation was indistinguishable 
from a human's, then the machine exhibited intelligent 
behavior. 

Hodges's treatment of the intellectual accomplishments 
of Turing's life is a major contribution. The book is a foun- 
tainhead of stimulating thought— discussing Turing's ideas 
on the determinism/free-will dialectic, for example— and 
historical minutiae. Hodges reveals, for example, that Mark 
1 program code was written in base 32 arithmetic nota- 
tion, a modification of Baudot teleprinter conventions. Tur- 
ing found it easy to think in this notation and confused 
his colleagues by writing base 32 numbers on the 
blackboard when explaining an idea. A slash (/) was the 
symbol that represented the number in this notation and 
is the likely origin of today's convention of writing 0s with 

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BOOK REVIEWS 



a slash through them (also a good way to differentiate 
from the letter "O"). Hiring was also fascinated throughout 
his life by the natural occurrences of flower petals, fir-cone 
florets, and sunflower seeds in a Fibonacci number 
sequence 

Aside from its contributions to the historical record, this 
book is a fascinating human story. Turing's disdain of social 
conventions, his lack of social graces, and his individuali- 
ty brought him both pleasure and pain. Though not a psy- 
chological history, Alan TUring: The Enigma explores the 
human side of the man who gave life to some remarkable 
ideas. Equally important, the study remains aware of the 
role played by the circumstances of a man's life in the 
development of his thought. Turing's ideas could have 
taken a much different tack were it not for a world war 
and a German cipher machine. 

The major unanswered question about Alan TUring is 
why he took his life. There was a homosexual scandal, 
resulting in a conviction for violation of sexual decency 
laws, and a subsequent agonizing year of drug treatment 
with female hormones. But his suicide came a full year 
after the end of the treatments and probation for his of- 
fense. Hodges closes his book with a 1 5-page discussion 
of government debates about excluding homosexuals 
from sensitive scientific and research posts for fear of their 
susceptibility to blackmail and coercion. But he never 
satisfactorily answers the question, Why suicide? Turing's 
mother never accepted this verdict, claiming that Alan's 
death was accidental. If Hodges explored the other 
possibilities, he doesn't reveal his findings. 

Though minor, there is one flaw in this book; it is 
plagued with editing and typographical errors, no doubt 
a result of the complexity of the manuscript. Anyone in- 
terested in the idea of intelligent machines should have 
no problem overlooking these errors. The book is never- 
theless a major work in the history of computer science. 
Well indexed and containing 28 pages of bibliographic 
notes, it is a valuable resource for information about the 
people who created the technology and the papers they 
wrote describing their ideas. 

G. Michael Vose is BYTE's senior technical editor for theme articles. 
He can be contacted at POB 372, Hancock, NH 03449. 



COMPUTER GRAPHICS 

PROGRAMMING 

Reviewed by Judith L. Maggiore 



The Graphical Kernel System (GKS) is the international 
standard for computer-graphics software. Computer 
Graphics Programming is an important addition to the stan- 
dard document defining GKS because it explains concepts, 
examples, and figures that could not be included in the 
standard document. Gunter Enderle, Klaus Kansy, and 
Giinther Pfaff are in a good position to write about that 

[continued) 



68 BYTE' FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



Inquiry 1 52 



WHY INVEST $90 IN MODULA-2? 

BECAUSE YOU'RE COMPETING WITH PEOPLE 

WHO BELIEVE THE BEST PROGRAMMING METHOD 

IS THE ONE THEY ALREADY KNOW. 



Whoever decided to make the 
switch from Roman Numerals to a 
more efficient notation for doing 
arithmetic should be a hero. His 
friends probably reacted as if he'd 
asked them to learn a whole new 
language. We think you'll see the 
parallel with Modula-2, especially 
after you try it. 

Niklaus Wirth, creator of Mod- 
ula-2, asserts that Modula- 2 is an 
abstract tool for the control of com- 
puting machinery: "In my opinion, 
the term programming language 
is ill chosen and misleading. Pro- 
gram notation would be eminently 
more appropriate." 

We're not proposing that you learn 
a "new language." That would be like 
arguing the merits of English versus 
French. But it does make sense to 
avail yourself of the most efficient 
known technology for controlling 
computing machinery - while your 
competition is left in the dark ages. 

Compared to Modula-2, whatever 
program notation you're now using 
is like doing your arithmetic in 
Roman Numerals. 

In this limited space, we won't try 
to prove that Modula-2 is the best 
available competitive tool for the 
serious computer entrepreneur. 
"Such matters," according to Frank 
Herbert {DUNE), "can only be 
tested in the crucible of survival, not 
in the play of symbols." 

The question is, for $90, can you 
afford not to test our claim? No other 
company in history has made it as 
easy for you to do business. Our 
entire object-program licensing 
agreement is on this page. 

So put some distance between 
yourself and those who believe the 
best programming method is the one 
they already know. 



MODULA-2 COMPILERS FOR IBM PCs, 
MACINTOSH, LISA AND APPLE lis — $90 

Modula-2 compiler and interpreter with 
enhanced, bit-mapped graphics are available 
for Apple's Lisa, Macintosh and I! computers; 
IBM's PC, XT and compatibles (MS-DOS 
2.0); and others to be announced. 



ABOUT MACMODULA-2™ 

MacModula-2 is what 128KB Macintosh 
users have been waiting for. Over 400 of the 
ToolBox ROM routines are supported, includ- 
ing pull-down menus, multiple windows, 
multiple fonts, QuickDraw graphics, the 
ROM-based serial driver, the sound driver, 
mouse support, etc. The M-code interpreter 
reduces memory requirements for 128KB 
Mac systems, yet executes at up to 75% of 
native-mode speeds if extensive use is made 
of the ROM routines. 

Also included with MacModula-2 is a full- 
screen, mouse-driven editor, a Transfer Menu 
facility that reduces the need for returning to 
the desktop between compiles, links and 
edits, and a Resource Maker that allows the 
entrepreneur to ship modifiable menus to 
customers, without shipping the actual Mac- 
Modula-2 source code. 



THE IDEAL MODULA-2 ENGINE 

We'd love to introduce you to the Lilith . It's 
a workstation computer with bit-map graph- 
ics, three-button mouse and a bit-slice proc- 
essor The Lilith was designed by the original 
Modula-2 team at the Swiss Federal Institute 
of Technology (ETH) as the ideal Modula-2 
engine. Over 200 have been placed into aca- 
demic and research environments. Now 
Modula Corporation makes a commercial ver- 
sion for your more demanding problems. 
Just call 800/LILITH2 to hear about customer 
benchmark reports. 



SOFTWARE LICENSE 

Join us in a commitment to personal integ- 
rity. Our prices are fair. Unlike program license 
agreements you can't help but violate, we've 
tried reTHINKing a few things. Perhaps we 
can start a trend that makes violation of 
another's intellectual property unfashiona- 
ble. Without all the "whereas" and "herewith" 
language, here's our attempt to transfuse 
integrity into the entrepreneurial bloodstream: 

You agree to treat the information we send you as il it were a book, 
with the exception that you are granted the right to make backup 
copies. Simple, Pournelle logic! 

In the spirit of the "book" analogy, you are tree to take your book to 
another house (or computer) with you. This, of course, means 
someone at your own house {or computer) cannot simultaneously 
read it. Similarly, you can loan your book to a friend. But there can be 
no possibility you can read it at the same time. You may sell your 
book, only if the new owner agrees to these same conditions (which 
means a copy of this agreement, signed by the new owner, must be 
sent to us). Finally, just as in a book, it lacks integrity to substitute 
your name for that of the legitimate author. 

As for our warranties. Defective software may be returned within 
thirty days for a replacement. But just like any other self-help book, 
its value to you is what you make of it. No matter how badly it 
damages your life, or that of your customers, we're not obligated to 
do anything whatsoever about it. 

Now, it's time to pl^y "How'd- you-like-to- 
see-something-rea/// -scary?" When you 
send us your check or credit card authoriza- 
tion, enclose this page (or a copy) with an 
original signature. Violate this agreement of 
integrity, and you'll get a doozer of a course in 
integrity at the claws of our attorneys; and 
they'll tell your mother. 



MODULA 

CORPORATION 



reTHINK 



1673 West 820 North, Provo, UT 84601 
801/375-7400 or 800/LILITH2 



In addition to information on the Lilith, please send me the Modula-2 Compiler at $90 for the [ ] IBM PC or XT, or the Apple □ Us, □ 

Lisa or the □ Macintosh. 

Utah residents include 6% sales tax. 

$10 handling and postage for all orders. 

$ Total amount enclosed/authorized. 

My signature below, besides being a possible credit card authorization, indicates my agreement to all the above terms. 
[ ] My check is enclosed. 

Please bill my G VISA / G MASTERCARD 



Card number 




Expiration 


Signature 




Date 


Print/type full name 


Title 




Company 


Phone 




Address 



City 



State 



Zip 



Copyright © 1985 by Modula Corporation. IBM'" IBM Corp., Apple'" Apple Computer Inc., MS™ Microsoft., Advertising by The Rick Bennett Agency, 408/258-2708. 
Inquiry 224 FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 69 



Inquiry 50 



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Apple and MacPaint are trademarks of Apple Computer lm 
Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Computer Inc 



BOOK REVIEWS 



standard because they have been involved in its design 
and review for several years. 

The history of computer graphics has been one of frag- 
mentation and separation. The subject is broad, covering 
areas including computer-aided design (CAD), business 
graphics, mapping, video games, and more. Each area had 
its own preferred hardware for displaying pictures. CAD 
applications used vector-refresh devices, while business 
graphics used storage tubes and pen plotters. The intro- 
duction of raster devices led to even more diversity. Soft- 
ware was tailored to take advantage of the capabilities of 
a particular device. As well as being device-dependent, 
computer-graphics software was also application- and sys- 
tem-dependent. There was little relation between the soft- 
ware used to design circuits and the software used to draw 
histograms. This situation meant that graphics programs 
were useful only for the application, operating system, and 
device for which they were specifically designed. 

As graphics devices became less expensive, more peo- 
ple discovered computer graphics. The advantages of be- 
ing able to display data as pictures are obvious. Once the 
prohibitive cost was removed, computer-graphics users 
proliferated. These new users of computer graphics were 
not interested in designing whole new systems— they were 
interested in using computers to draw pictures. 

At this point, the field was ripe for a standard. The de- 
velopment of this standard began in the mid 1970s, with 
many organizations participating. In the United States, 
standardization was initiated in 1974 by the Association 
for Computing Machinery's Graphics Standards Planning 
Committee, part of the special-interest group on computer 
graphics. This work was taken over by ANSI (American Na- 
tional Standards Institute) committee X3H3, one of the 
major contributors to the review of GKS. The work of all 
the committees in various countries was consolidated 
under the auspices of the International Standards 
Organization (ISO) and eventually led to the development 
of GKS. The authors estimate that there were 50 man-years 
of effort devoted to the development of the graphics 
standard. 

Computer Graphics Programming has something for every- 
one The novice to computer graphics will find the defini- 
tions of graphical terms and concepts very valuable. Ex- 
perienced graphics users and experts will find the book 
the best help available for understanding GKS. Applica- 
tions programmers who plan to use an implementation 
of GKS will probably use this text daily as a reference Im- 
plementors of GKS will find the sections on device and 
language interfaces and implementation styles invaluable 
Students and teachers on either the undergraduate or 
graduate level can use Computer Graphics Programming as a 
text or reference for a course in computer graphics. 

Well Organized 

The authors have organized this book very well. Section 
I contains an overview of the standard's general concepts 

{continued) 



70 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 130 




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In Touch with Tomorrow 

TOSHIBA 

TOSHIBA AMERICA, INC, Information Systems Division 



Inquiry 314. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 71 



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Atlanta, New Orleans, Nashville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando 



72 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 211 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 73 



Inquiry 293 



Sp 



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BOOK REVIEWS 



and vocabulary. The precise and clear definitions of graph- 
ical terms and concepts presented in this section should 
go a long way toward clarifying the vocabulary we need 
to talk about computer graphics. These basic terms and 
concepts form the basis of the more formal description 
of GKS found later in the book. Included in this section 
are chapters on the principles and goals used in the design 
of GKS and the interfaces to GKS. Since GKS is designed 
to be device- and system-independent, it must be inter- 
faced on one side to a specific language and on the other 
to the graphical hardware. Chapter 6 is especially useful 
because here the authors provide concise definitions of 
all the main ideas used in GKS. These definitions are 
followed by chapters that supply additional detail and 
amplification about each concept. 

The second section describes the process of the devel- 
opment of the GKS standard. The authors sketch briefly 
the history of computer graphics and the events that led 
up to the final GKS document. The most interesting part 
of this section is chapter 3, which presents some of the 
issues the developers of GKS had to resolve. Arguments 
pro and con on each issue and the ultimate decision of 
the committee are discussed. 

Section III, the largest part of the book, is a detailed 
description of the functional capabilities of GKS. Enderle, 
Kansy, and Pfaff explain all the functions and data struc- 
tures relevant to GKS. 

The definitions of the functions are presented in two 
parts. First is the language-independent version, taken 
directly from the GKS standard document. Next is the 
FORTRAN definition. Following the function definitions are 
examples of programs or program fragments using GKS. 
The examples are presented in both Pascal and FORTRAN 
and very clearly show typical uses of GKS by applications 
programmers. The book also includes some exercises in- 
tended to help students and teachers. 

Section IV will be most useful to the implementors of 
GKS, those people who will write the subroutine package 
that makes GKS available to applications programmers. 
This section covers methods of implementation, imple- 
mentation styles, interfaces to devices, and interfaces to 
specific languages, A mapping of the abstract data struc- 
tures of GKS to FORTRAN data structures is included. 
Other topics in this section are graphics metafiles, valida- 
tion of GKS implementations, and three-dimensional ex- 
tensions to GKS. 

Evaluation 

This book clarifies an area that is often confusing and 
obscure. Tferms and concepts are excellently presented. 
Anyone seriously involved in the use of GKS will find this 
book invaluable. 

More pictures and illustrations should have been in- 
cluded. A book on computer graphics needs lots of pic- 
tures. The second problem is minor. The use of the English 
language seems awkward at times, 

{continued) 



74 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 335 





What C did for Programming 
Mark Williams has done for C Programming 

I 



The C Programming System 
from Mark Williams 

MWC86 gets your C programs run- 
ning faster and uses less memory space 
than any other compiler on the market. 
T h e n ( \sd . M a r k W illiams' revolutionary 
C Source Debugger, helps you debug 
faster. That's The C Programming Sy; 
tern from Mark Williams Company. 

MWC86 

MWC86 is the most highly optimized 
C compiler available anywhere for the 
DOS and 8086 environment. The bench- 
marks prove it! They show MWC86 is 
unmatched in speed and code density. 

MWC86 supports large and small 
models of compilation, the 8087 math 
coprocessor and DOS 2.0 pathnames. 
The compiler features common code 
elimination, peephole optimization and 
register variables. It includes the most 
complete libraries. Unlike its competi- 
tion, MWC86 supports the full C lan- 
guage including recent extensions such 
as the Berkeley structure rules, voids, 
enumerated data types, UNIX* I/O calls 
and structure assignments. 

Quality is why Intel, DEC and Wang 
chose to distribute MWC86. These in- 
dustry leaders looked and compared 
and found Mark Williams to be best. 

User Friendly 

MWC86 is the easiest to use of all 
compilers. One command runs all 
phases from pre-processor to assembler 
and linker. MWC86 eliminates the need 
to search for error messages in the back 
of a manual. All error messages appear 
on the screen in English. 

A recent review of MWC86 in 
PC World, June, 1984, summed it up: 



*Unix is a Trademark of Bell Laboratories. 



"Of all the compilers reviewed, MWC86 
would be my first choice for product 
development. It compiles quickly, pr o^ 
duces superior error messages, andjm 
maenerates quick, compact object code. 
The library is smalt and fast and close- 
ly follows the industry standard for 
C libraries." 

csd C Source Debugger 

Mark Williams was not content to 
write the best C compiler on the mar- 
ket. To advance the state of the art in 
software development, Mark Williams 
wrote csd. 

csd C Source Debugger serves as a 
microscope on the program. Any C 
expression can be entered and evalu- 
ated. With csd a programmer can set 
tracepoints on variables and expressions 
with full history capability and can 
single step a program to find bugs. The 
debugger does not affect either code 
size or execution time, csd features 
online help instructions; the ability to 
walk through the stack; the debugging 
of graphics programs without disturb- 




SIEVE 

Time in Seconds 
II Large Model 

■ Small Model 
Size in Bytes 
□ Large Model 

■ Small Model 




ing the program under test; and evalu- 
ation, source, program and history 

indows. 

csd eases the most difficult part of 
development — debugging. Because 
csd debugs in C, not assembler, a pro- 
grammer no longer has to rely on old- 
fashioned assembler tools, but can 
work as if using a C interpreter — in 
real time. 



The C Programming System 
from Mark Williams now supports 
the following libraries: 

Library Company 

Windows for C Creative Solutions 

Halo Media Cybernetics 

PHACT PHACT Associates 

The Greenleaf Functions Greenieaf Software 

Btrieve SoftCraft 

The C Programming System 
from Mark Williams 

The C Programming System from 
Mark Williams delivers not only the 
best C compiler for the 8086 but also 
the only C source level debugger. That's 
why it does for C programming what C 
did for programming. The Mark Wil- 
liams C Programming System gives the 
programmer the MWC86 C compiler 
and the csd C Source Debugger for 
only $495. Order today by calling 
1-800-MWC-1700. Major credit cards 
accepted. 

Technical support for The Mark Wil- 
liams C Programming System is pro- 
vided free of charge by the team that 
developed it. 



Mark Williams Company 

1430 W. Wrightwood Ave. 
Chicago, IL 60614 




Inquiry 197 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 75 



Inquiry 349 for Dealers. Inquiry 350 for End-Users. 



Powerful Single Board Computer 
Includes CP/M Plus on Disk 




$599 



• MSDOS Coproc esse 

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Video, 128Kb, CPIM Plus T ' 



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MSC-ICO uspa the most popular microprocessor, the 
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any wail slates The whole system rMnrorporairrl into .< 
high quality lour layer PC hoard measuring only !4imm 
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Banked CP/M Plus Included 
CPIM Plus (3 banked) is included on disk with all 
manuals CP/M Plus is upwardly compatible with CP/M 
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Internal Floppy Disk Controller 
MSC-ICO handles ShugartlANSI standard floppy disk 



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MSC-ICO communicates with printers, modems, plot- 
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Centronics Parallel Port 

el port allows MSC ICO to 

with printers and other parallel devices 

Parallel Keyboard Port 
MSC ICO connects to any ASCII parallel keyboard of 
positive or negative polarity with a negative strobe A 
type-ahead buffer and programmable furn [ion keys are 
provided by MSC-ICOs custom BIOS 

16 Bit TTL I/O Port 
This port allows you to access printers, relays. LED's, 
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L Ol 



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MSC-ICO contains an 80 x 24 line memory mapped CRT 

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Cursor escape sequences are an extension of DEC'v 
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Dept 164921 



BOOK REVIEWS 



It's too early to tell what effect GKS will have on the 
computer-graphics industry. It will be interesting to see 
how GKS stands up in light of recent developments. What- 
ever the future of GKS, it is a very important development 
now, and Computer Graphics Programming is indispensable to 
anyone wishing to understand and use GKS. 

\udith L. Maggiore programmed graphics for three years prior to 
teaching computer science classes and computer-graphics seminars at 
Keene State College (Mathematics Dept., Keene, NH 0343 1). 



DATA STRUCTURES 
AND PROGRAM DESIGN 
Reviewed by Edward Brent 



The boundary between writing programs that merely 
get by and designing programs that perform complex 
tasks efficiently is one that many programmers never cross. 
Yet it is a boundary that is fundamental to the develop- 
ment of programming as a discipline. People who program 
by the seat of their pants and hold their programs together 
with the electronic equivalent of spit and baling wire must 
give way to trained programmers who develop finely 
crafted, efficient, and maintainable programming solutions 
to difficult problems. The selection and design of ap- 
propriate data structures and algorithms is a crucial ele- 
ment of professional-quality programming. The central 
role of data structures in professional programming is in- 
sightfully examined by Robert L. Kruse in Data Structures 
and Program Design. 

Audience 

In the preface Kruse indicates this book includes all the 
topics of specific courses recommended and offered by 
ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Curriculum 
78. The prerequisite for the book is a first course in pro- 
gramming, or equivalent experience, and elementary ex- 
perience with Pascal. 

I find the book suitable for a second course in computer 
programming. However, it could also be of value to pro- 
grammers not enrolled in a computer science course but 
interested in upgrading their programming skills. 

But the issues of selecting appropriate data structures 
should not be relegated to a second course on computing. 
Because the selection of data structures is such an im- 
portant aspect of quality programming, it should not be 
left for more advanced books. 

Kruse consistently highlights the distinction between 
abstract structures and their implementations. He begins 
by addressing the programming principles of top-down 
refinement, program design, and review and testing; he 
illustrates these principles with extended examples. 

In chapters 2 and 5, Kruse discusses the more impor- 
tant structures: stacks, queues, and other lists in both con- 
tiguous and linked representations and binary trees. He 

{continued) 



76 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 22 5 




I",',' I') Mn I 



IBM SYSTEM SPECIALS 

256K. 2 Drives 

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adaptor & PGS HX-12 monitor 
256K 1 Drive & 10 MB Hard Disk 
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VP 2220 (Portable w/25BK) 
COMPUPRO 10 (10 MB Multi-user) ... 



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SANYO 
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Inquiry 131 



HARMONY VIDEO & COMPUTERS 

2357 CONEY ISLAND AVE., BROOKLYN, NY 1 1 223 

TO ORDER CALL TOLL FREE 

800 VIDE084 OR 718-627-1000 OR 800-441-1 144 







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Amdek 300 Amber 
310 Amber 
Color 300 
Color 500 
Color 600 
Color 700 
Color 710 
Zenith Green 
Taxan210 
PrlnctonHX12 
Taxan 122A 
Taxan420 

MODEMS 

Hayes 1200 
Hayes 1200B 
Hayes 300 
Mtcromodem 2E 
Access 123 
Novation J-cat 



435 
382 



Friendly Computer Center Inc. 



EPSON 



NEW RX-80 ft Plus 
FX80 

JX 80 color 
RX100 
Titan 2 Board tor QX-tO 




APPLE lit Entry System 

NEW APPLE 0U0DISC DRIVE 
w/EXTENDED 80 COLUMN CARD 
APPLE TILT MONITOR IN STOCK 
MACINTOSH CALL 

NEW APPLE He 895 

DISK DRIVES-FDR IBM 

Teac ". ht DS/DD 149 

Rana 2000 IBM 149 



ADD ON BOARDS 

FOR IBM 

AST Six Pack Plus 64K 249.00 
Ouadram Expanded Ouadboard 
W/64K 259.00 

Hercules Graphics Board 319.00 
Hercules Color Card w/Parallel 
Port 179.00 

Koala Speed Key System 149.00 
Mouse Systems Mouse w/Mouse 
w/PC Paint and Menue 159.00 
Hayden Saragon III Chess 34.90 
Microsoft Flight Simulator 1137.90 
Hayden Saragon III lor Mac 39.90 
De Base III 349X10 

Framework 379.00 

SYMPHONY CALL 



MODEMS 



379.00 
459 00 
195.00 
235.00 

239.00 
CAM 



Hayes 1200B IBM 

Hayes 1200 RS232 

Hayes 300 RS232 
Micromoden HE 
HA/ES300 loi Hi 
New Haves 2400. 
RacalVadic 1200 EXT-RS- 
232 349.00 

Raca-Vadic Internal w/ George 
Software 349.00 

CompuServe Slarter Kit 28.95 
The Source Starter Kit CALL 

Grappler Bufterd Plus 16K 
w/ cable 149.00 

LETTER QUALITY PRINTERS 

ONE TIME SPECIAL 

LIMITEO QUANTITY 

CIT0H - Leading Edge25cps 
15 Daisy Wheel , 1t <* 

$449 *#***" 



IBM- HARD DISK SYSTEM 
IBM" PC 256K 
10MEGW/1 DS FLOPPY 
IBM MONO CARD & MONITOR 



complete 



$3249 



MONITORS 

Princeton HX-12 Graphics 459.00 

New Amdek Color 300 269.00 
New Amdek Color 700-Ultra Hires 

RGB 499D0 

Amdek .3 IDA 175.00 
Comrex 5650 Hires 12' 

Green 99.00 

Gorilla 12' Green 89.00 

PRINTERS 

Juki-6100 . . 379JM 

Juki-6300 CALL 

Juki-Tractor 6100 99.00 

New Toshiba 1340 780jOO 

Toshiba 1351 1295.00 



FOR MAIL ORDERS: Send Money Order Ceitjfied Check Mastercard VISA gladly accepted Add estimated price tor 
shipping handling and insurance WE WILL SHIP ORDERS AT THE ADVERTISED PRICES GUARANTEED UMTl FEB M IMS 

Apple is a registered trademark ol Apple Compuler. inc IBM Is a registered trademark o( International Business Machines, 



■EBSSSF* I (718) 252-9737 

Friendly Computer Center, Inc. r 



BOOK REVIEWS 



covers more advanced applications of trees, including AVL 
(Adelson-Velskii and Landis) trees, contiguous represen- 
tation of binary trees, lexicographic search trees, and ex- 
ternal searching. There is no discussion of graphs. 

Kruse examines algorithms for searching, looking up 
tables, accessing hash tables, and sorting. He presents an 
in-depth study of recursion. The author works out large, 
complex programs in detail, and he develops programs 
to index text and to evaluate mathematical expressions. 

In the appendixes, Kruse discusses techniques from 
combinatorial mathematics for assessing algorithms 
analytically. He also covers methods for manually remov- 
ing recursion and presents standard syntax diagrams and 
tables for Pascal. 

Pascal and Clear Examples 

Kruse illustrates principles using Pascal programs that have 
been tested on several compilers. 1 endorse this strategy; 
others have used pseudolanguages. For people using 
Pascal the book is eminently useful and educational. You 
can enter the programs and try your own modifications. 

The book contains many in-depth examples of applica- 
tions of data structures to programming problems. 
Realistic examples include Conway's game of Life, a text- 
indexing program, and a program that evaluates mathe- 
matic expressions. 

I lost count of the number of times 1 came across 
valuable nuggets of information or explanations that 
clarified concepts I had read about in other books but 
failed to understand. Where other authors simply use 
pointers, Kruse discusses how pointers can be created 
even in languages in which they are not implemented. 

It is apparent that much of Kruse's time preparing this 
text was spent trying it out on students, polishing the 
prose, and clarifying important points. This book stands 
head and shoulders above others in making difficult con- 
cepts understandable. 

Unfortunately while Kruse covers most of the fundamen- 
tal data structures I expected, he does not include a 
chapter on graphs. Graphs are an important data struc- 
ture different enough from other data structures so as to 
require individual consideration. They have significant 
practical applications for scheduling programs, flow pro- 
grams, and trip planning. 

Data Structures and Program Design excellently covers data 
structures and algorithms for operating on them. Kruse 
is readable, covers topics in great depth, and does so 
without losing the reader. I recommend the book for a 
second course in any formal computer curriculum or as 
a resource and reference book for programmers who seek 
to improve their programming skills on their own. ■ 

Edward Brent, an associate professor of sociology and family and com- 
munity medicine (108 Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia. 
MO 65211), has recently completed a post-doctorate fellowship in 
which he studied the role of data structures in artificial-intelligence 
programming. 



78 BYTE" FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 115 



Get the Picture 







■ 



PC-SYE is a high sp+ed, 
high resolution via#o 
digitizer board that lata 
you capture anything > 
can 900. 



Now you can open up a whole 
new dimension in data base 
applications by merging real-life 
pictures with popular data base 
management systems. Pictures 
of people, products, diagrams, 
maps, company logos — what- 
ever you want to photograph — 
can be integrated with your data 
base. Consider these typical 
applications: 

Security — verify those employees 
who have authorized clearance to 
limited access areas. A data base 
containing employee pictures and 
personnel records can be searched 
and displayed for visual 
verification. 

Signature Verification — increase 
the efficiency of credit checks by 
adding pictures of customer 
signatures to your financial data 
base records. 

Real Estate — add pictures of 
houses to on-line real estate 
listings for faster property identifi- 
cation and improved sales 
presentations. 

Electronic Cataloging — pictures 
of products can be combined with a 
data base system containing pro- 
duct specifications, pricing, 
availability and much more. 



Customers, distributors and sales 
personnel can quickly search data 
and view the resulting product/ 
picture information on one screen. 
Files can be updated easily, 
quickly. 




CHORUS 



it's Easy 

With a simple keystroke, pop-out of 
yo ur dat a base system and into the 
PHOTOBASE menu. Capture 
images of text, photos, artwork and 
3-dimensional objects with an 
ordinary video camera and our 
high resolution PC-EYE™ video 
digitizer. Pop back into your data 
base system and add the picture 
name to your data base like you 
would any other piece of 
information. The full functionality of 
the data base system is preserved, 
but the resulting display is text and 
picture information on one screen. 

Pictures are displayed in the upper 
right quadrant of the screen at a 
resolution of 320 x 200 with 16 
colors or levels of gray. Text 
information from data base records 
fills the rest of the screen. Pictures 
can also be exploded to full screen. 

Call or write and we will send you 
information on PHOTOBASE, 
PC-EYE, compatible cameras and 
other imaging equipment in the 
Chorus Family of products. 
(603) 424-2900 or 
1-800-OCHORUS 

TM PHOTOBASE and PC-EYE are trademarks of 
CHORUS Data Systems. 
'dBase II is a trademark of Ashton-Tate; R-Base 
4000 is a trademark of Microhm, Inc.; IBM Filing 
Assistant is a trademark of International Business 
Machines Corporation. 

Inquiry 49 



CHORUS Data Systems, Inc., 6 Continental Blvd., P.O. Box 370, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054 






SHE'S TEMPORARY. 

THE DAMAGE IS PERMANENT. 



One wrong key. 

The slightest slip. 

And your accounts receivable 
are accounts irretrievable. 

It can happen to you-because 
a leading cause of data loss is 
human error. If you employ people 
and computers, you Ye vulnerable. 

Unless you backup your data. 

Every day. 

No matter what. 



The smartest way to do that 
is with a Tallgrass HardFile " 
Mass Storage System. 



Shown above, the 20 megabyte HardFile 
with 20 megabyte tape for $2, 995. 



TALLGRASS SELLS MORE 
HARD DISK STORAGE WITH 
CARTRIDGE TAPE BACKUP 
THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD. 

Tallgrass took the industry's 
most reliable medium-magnetic 
tape- and perfected a format 
that's become the standard for 
personal computers. 

We used a removable tape 
cartridge to store data out of 



80 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




i 




harm's way. And made two ver- 
sions. Our 3000 Series HardFiles 
combine tape's accuracy with 
the enormous capacities of hard 
disk, providing 12, 20, 35 or 70 
megabytes storage with a remov- 
able cartridge tape for backup. 
Our 4060 tape storage system, 
for personal computers with 
hard disks built in, supplies 60 
megabytes of backup capacity. 



Result: the world's best selling 
mass storage systems with the 
most reliable data protection. 

The only kind to have when 
facing a permanent problem. 

For a free brochure, your j 
nearest dealer, and more 
good reasons to backup, 
call 1-800-228-DISK. And 
solve your problems 
permanently. 




TALLGRASS 
TECHNOLOGIES 

COMMITTED TO MEMORY 

Inquiry 307 



HardFile™ and Tallgrass* are trademarks of 

Tallgrass Technologies Corporation. • 1984 Tallgrass Technologies. 



/ 



THE PROFESSIONAL'S CHOICE 



Lotus 
1-2-3 

*299 



Software 

Word Processing Editc 

EASYWRITER It 

SYSTEM 
FANCY FONT 
FINAL WORD 
MICROSOFT WORD 
MICROSOFT WORD 

W/MOUSE 
MULTIMATE 
PFS: WHITE 
SAMNA WORD III 
VOLKSWRITER 

DELUXE 
VOLKSWRITER 

SCIENTIFIC 
THE WORD PLUS 

(OASIS) 
WORD PERFECT 
WORDPLUS W/BOSS 
WORDSTAR 
WORDSTAR 2000 
WORDSTAR 2000+ 
WORDSTAR 

PROFESSIONAL 
XYWRITE 11+ 

Spreadsheets/ 
Integrated Packages 

ELECTRIC DESK 

ENABLE 

FRAMEWORK 

LOTUS 1-2-3 

MULTIPLAN 

OPEN ACCESS 

SMART SYSTEM 

SPREADSHEET 
AUDITOR 

SUPERCALC 3 

SYMPHONY 

TK1 SOLVER 

Desktop 
Environments 

DESK ORGANIZER 

GET ORGANIZED 

SIDEKICK 

SPOTLIGHT 

Communications/ 
Productivity Tools 

CROSSTALK 

PROKEY 

RELAY 

SMARTCOM II 



Samna 
Word III 

'CALL 



Lotus 
Symphony 

'419 



dBase III I Framework I MultiMate 



*339 



*339 



*259 



WordStar 
2000+ 

'319 



$219 

$139 
$189 
$239 

$289 
$259 
$ 95 

SCaJI 

$159 

$309 

$105 
$249 

$319 
$199 
$269 
$319 

$259 
$229 



$209 
$459 
$339 
$299 
$135 
$299 
$559 

$ 79 

$199 
$419 

$269 



$129 
$159 
$ 45 
$109 



$105 
$ 89 
$ 99 

$109 



Database Systems 

ALPHA DATA BASE 

MANAGER II 
CLOUT V 2.0 
CONDOR III 
DBASE II 
DBASE III 
INFOSTAR- 
KNOWLEDGEMAN 
PFS: FILE/PFS: 

REPORT 
POWERBASE 
QUICKCODE III 
R BASE 4000 

Languages/Utilities 

CONCURRENT DOS 

C86 C COMPILER 

DIGITAL RESEARCH 
C COMPILER 

DR FORTRAN 77 

LATTICE C COMPILER 

MICROSOFT C 
COMPILER 

MS BASIC COMPILER 

MS FORTRAN 

NORTON UTILITIES- 
NEW 

TURBO PASCAL 

Project 
Management 

HARVARD PROJECT 

MANAGER 
HARVARD TOTAL 

PROJECT MANAGER 
MICROSOFT 

PROJECT 
SCITOR PROJECT 

5000 W GRAPHICS 

Professional 
Development 

MANAGEMENT EDGE 
SALES EDGE 
THINK TANK 

Home/Personal 
Finance 

DOLLARS AND 

SENSE 
FINANCIER II 
HOWARD TAX 

PREPARER 85 
MICROTAX 
MANAGING YOUR 
MONEY 



$179 
$139 
$299 
$269 
$339 
$319 
$269 

$169 
$219 
$169 
$259 



$189 
$299 

$219 
$219 

$Call 

$309 
$249 
$239 

SCaH 
$45 



$219 
$299 
$159 
$289 



$159 
$159 
$119 



$119 
$119 



$195 

SC.ll 



$129 



Graphics/Statistics 

ABSTAT $279 

AUTOCAD SCall 
BPS BUSINESS 

GRAPHICS $229 

CHARTMASTER $239 

CHARTSTAR $209 

DR DRAW $199 
ENERGRAPHICSW/ 

PLOTTER $279 

EXECUVISION $259 
GRAPHWRITER 

COMBO $389 

MS CHART $159 
OVERHEAD 

EXPRESS $139 

PC DRAW $259 

PC PAINTBRUSH $ 89 

PFS: GRAPH $ 95 

SIGNMASTER $179 

STATPRO SCan 

STATPAK-NWA $329 

STATPAC-WALONICK $299 

Accounting Modules 

BPI $329 

GREAT PLAINS $479 

IUS EASYBUSINESS $309 

MBA $369 

OPEN SYSTEMS $399 

PEACHTREE $299 

REAL WORLD $469 

STATE OF THE ART $389 
STAR ACCOUNTING 

PARTNER $249 
STAR ACCOUNTING 

PARTNER II $599 

Hardware * 

Multifunction Boards 

AST ADVANTAGE SCall 

AST 6 PAK PLUS (64K) $249 
AST 6 PAK PLUS 

(384K) $449 

AST MEGAPLUSII (64K) $269 

AST MEGAPAK (256K) $349 

OUADBOARD (64K) $266 

QUADBOARD (256K) $399 
OUADBOARD EXP. 

<64K) $269 
QUADBOARD EXP. 

(384K) $469 

QUAD 512 ♦ (64K) $269 

ORCHID BLOSSOM SCall 

PERSYST SCall 

TECMAR CAPTAIN(64K> $279 

TECMAR WAVE (64K) $209 



Display Boards 

AST MONOGRAPH PLUS $Cali 
EVEREX GRAPHICS 

EDGE $419 

HERCULES GRAPHICS 

CARD $329 

HERCULES COLOR 

CARD $179 

PARADISE MODULAR 

GRAPHICS CARD $285 

PARADISE 

MULTIDISPLAY CARD $285 



PERSYST 
PLANTRONICS 

COLORPLUS 
PRINCETON SCAN 

DOUBLER 
STB GRAPHICS 

PLUS II 
TECMAR GRAPHICS 

MASTER 
TECMAR VIDEO VAN 

GOGH 
TSENG ULTRA PAK 

Displays 

AMD EK 3O0G/300A 
AMDEK 310A 
AMDEK COLOR II « 
PRINCETON HX-12 
PRINCETON MAX -12 
PRINCETON SR-12 
QUADRAM 

AMBERCHROME 
ZENITH 124 AMBER 
ZENITH 135 COLOR 

Modems 

AST REACH 1200 

HAYES 1200 
HAYES 1200B 
HAYES 2400 

VENTEL 1200 
HALF CARD 



SCall 



SCall 
$309 



$259 
$449 



$139/149 
$179 
$459 
$469 

$179 

SCall 

$179 
$145 

SCaM 



SCall 
$459 
$399 

SCall 

$Ca* 



Accessories 

CURTIS SURGE 

PROTECTORS SCall 
EPD SURGE 

PROTECTORS SCaH 

GILTRONIX A/B SWITCH SCall 
MICROBUFFER INLINE 

(64K) $264 
MICROFAZER INLINE 

(64K) $219 

64K RAM SET $40 

256K RAM SET SCall 

6087 MATH $150 



Printers/Plotters 
AMPLOT II 
C. ITOH 
COMWRITER II 
COMWRITER 420 
DIABLO 620/630 
EPSON FX-100+ 
EPSON LQ-1500 
EPSON JX-80 
JUKI 6100 
NECP3 
NEC 2050 
NEC 3550 
OKIDATA 84P 
OKIDATA 93P 
QUME SPRINT 1155 
TOSHIBA P1351 
SWEET P 6 PEN 
PLOTTER 

Emulation Boards 

ASTPCOX 
AST 3780 
AST SNA 
AST BSC 
BLUE LYNX 
CXI 3278/9 
IRMA 
IRMALINE 
IRMAPRINT 
QUAD 3278 

Input Devices 

KEYTRONIC5151 
MICROSOFT 

MOUSE 
PC MOUSE W /PAINT 

Mass Storage 

ALLOY PC-BACKUP 

20MB 
ALLOY PC-DISC 

20MB 
IOMEGA 10+10 MB 
MAYNARD WS-1 10MB 
SIGMA 

SYSGEN IMAGE 
TALLGRASS HARDFILE 

♦TAPE 
TEAC HALF HEIGHT 



$859 

SCall 
SCall 
SCall 
SCall 
SCall 
SCall 
SCall 
$419 
$899 
$769 
$1399 
$729 
$619 
$1569 
$1279 

$899 



$949 
$609 
$689 
$ 29 

SCall 
SCall 
$869 
$999 
SCall 
$949 



$139 
$159 



$1649 

$1769 
$2895 
$Cai 
$Cai 

SCall 

SCall 
$159 



Networks 

AST PC NET SCall 

CORVUS NET SCall 
DIGITAL RESEARCH 

STARLINK $1199 

ORCHID PC NET SCall 

-CALL FOR SHIPPING COSTS 



Chart-Master 

'839 



AST6Pak 
Plus 

'249 



Quad Board I Smartmodem I Smartmodem 
Expanded64K| 1200B 1200 

'269 '399 '489 




LOWEST PRICE 
GUARANTEE!! 

We will match current 

nationally advertised 

prices on most products. 

Call and compare. 



free 



Diskette 

Library 

Case 

with your order 




1-B00-221-1260 

In New York State call (718) 438-6057 



TERMS: 

Checks— allow 14 days to clear Credit processing— add 3%. COD orders— cash. 
M.Oor certified check— add $3.00. Shipping and handling UPS surface— aad $3.00 
per item (UPS Blue $6.00 per item). NY State Residents— add applicable sales tax. 
All prices subject to change. 



MOIM.-THURS. 9:00AM-8:00PM 
SUN. & FRI. 9:00AM-4:00PM 





Softline Corporation 
P.O. Box 729, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230 
TELEX: 421047 ATLNUI 



82 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 283 



EVENT QUEUE 



February 1985 

• AI, EXPERT SYSTEM 
BRIEFING-Artificial In- 
telligence and Expert Sys- 
tems: What Business Must 
Know Today to Reap the 
Benefits Tomorrow, Marriott 
Copley Place Boston, MA. A 
one-day executive briefing. 
The fee is $790. Contact Lee 
Burgess, Professional 
Development Programs, 
Rensselaer Polytechnic In- 
stitute, Troy Building, New 
York. NY 12180-3 590, (518) 
266-6589. February 11 

• SOFTWARE MANAGE- 
MENT CONTROL-Con- 

figuration Management of 
Software Programs, San 
Diego, CA. Intended to show 
those working in software 
management how to control 
development, maintenance, 
and operational costs. The 
cost is $730. Contact Stod 
Cortelyou, Continuing 
Engineering Education, 
George Washington Univer- 
sity, Washington, DC 20052, 
(800) 424-9773; in the 
District of Columbia, (202) 
676-8520. February 11—13 

• NETWORK COMPO- 
NENTS EXPLAINED-Data 
Communications Network 
Components. Atlanta, GA. A 
thorough overview of the 
use, operation, applications, 
and acquisition procedures 
of 25 major communications 
components. The fee is 
$795. Contact Elaine Had- 
den Nicholas, Department of 
Continuing Education, 
Georgia Institute of Tech- 
nology, Atlanta, GA 30332- 
0385, (404) 894-2 547. 
February 12-14 

• INTERACTIVE 
INSTRUOTON-The Third 
Conference on Interactive In- 
struction Delivery, Sheraton 



Towers Hotel. Orlando. FL. 
Contact the Society for Ap- 
plied Learning Technology, 
50 Culpeper St., Warrenton, 
VA 22186, (703) 347-0055. 
February 13-15 

• COMPUTERS FILL 
EDUCATORS' TALL ORDER 

The Fifth Annual Conference 
of the Texas Computer 
Education Association, Hyatt 
Regency Hotel, Austin. TX. 
The theme is 'New Direc- 
tions for Education Using 
Modern Day Technology." 
Contact TCEA Conference, 
POB 2 573, Austin, TX 
78768. February 13-16 

• PC SYMPOSIUM 

The 1984 UNM Personal 
Computer Symposium, Uni- 
versity of New Mexico, Albu- 
querque. Exhibits, seminars, 
and demonstrations of per- 
sonal computer systems for 
business, education, and 
professional offices. Contact 
the Tau Beta Pi Honor Soci- 
ety, c/o Dr. Randy Truman, 
Department of Mechanical 
Engineering, University of 
New Mexico, Albuquerque 
NM 87131. (505) 277-6296. 
February 15-16 

• COCO CONVOCATION 

RainbowFest, Irvine Marriott, 
Irvine, CA. A show for users 
of the Radio Shack TRS-80 
Color Computer. More than 
50 exhibitors are expected. 
Contact Falsoft Inc., POB 
385, Prospect, KY 40059, 
(502) 228-4492. 
February 15-17 

• MICROS FOR EDU- 
CATORS— Association of 



Teacher Educators National 
Conference, Riviera Conven- 
tion and Resort Hotel, Las 
Vegas, NV Exhibits and 
demonstrations of micro- 
computers, microcomputer 
products, and communica- 
tions equipment will be 
featured. Contact Peter C 
West, Learning Center. Col- 
lege of Education, Gabel 
Hall 8, Northern Illinois 
University, DeKalb, IL 60115, 
(815) 753-1241. 
February 18-19 

• MANAGE YOUR COM- 
PUTER— Managing Com- 
puter Resources, Winter- 
green Learning Institute, 
Wintergreen, VA. Focuses on 
networking, system design, 
performance evaluation, and 
operational difficulties en- 
countered by managers and 
executives. Rates vary from 
$570 to $769, depending on 
accommodations. Contact 
Dr. M. D. Corcoran, Winter- 
green Learning Institute, 
POB 7, Wintergreen, VA 
22958, (800) 32 5-2200; in 
Virginia, (804) 32 5-1107. 
February 18-22 

• COMMUNICATIONS FOR 

EXECS-Info/Central. O'Hare 
Exposition Center, Chicago, 
IL. A computer and commu- 
nications show and con- 
ference for executives and 
data-processing managers. 
Topics: mainframes, micro- 
computers, telecommunica- 
tions systems, and micro- 
graphics. Contact the Show 
Manager, Info/Central, 999 
Summer St., Stamford, CT 
06905, (203) 964-8287. 
February 20-22 



IF YOU WANT your organization's public activities listed in BYTE's Event 
Queue, we need to know about them at least four months in advance. Send 
information about computer conferences, seminars, workshops, and courses 
to BYTE, Event Queue, POB 372. Hancock, NH 03449. 



• MODULA-2 ENGI- 

NEERING-Software 
Engineering with Modula-2, 
Atlanta, GA. A course 
emphasizing methods for 
building large-scale software 
systems in Modula-2. Pre- 
requisite: knowledge of Ada 
or Pascal. The fee is $495. 
Contact Elaine Hadden 
Nicholas, Department of 
Continuing Education, 
Georgia Institute of Tech- 
nology, Atlanta, GA 30332- 
0385, (404) 894-2 547. 
February 20-22 

• BUSINESS GRAPHICS 

Computer Business Graph- 
ics, Bonaventure Intercon- 
tinental Hotel, Fort Lauder- 
dale, FL. Contact Carol 
Every, Frost & Sullivan Inc., 
106 Fulton St., New York, 
NY 10038, (212) 233-1080. 
February 20-23 

• MAC IN SPOTLIGHT 

MacWorld Exposition, 
Brooks Hall, San Francisco, 
CA. A hands-on festival of 
Macintosh hardware, soft- 
ware, and peripherals. Con- 
tact World Expositions, 
Mitch Hall Associates, POB 
860, Westwood, MA 02090, 
(617) 329-7466. 
February 21-23 

• COMPUTER FAIRE 
The Fourth Annual IEEE 
Computer Faire, Huntsville, 
AL. Sponsored by the In- 
stitute of Electrical and Elec- 
tronics Engineers. Contact 
Terry Mizell, POB 5188. 
Huntsville, AL 35805, (205) 
532-2036. February 22-23 

• COMPUTERS IN MEXICO 

The First International Com- 
puter and Communications 
Exposition and Conference: 
MexCom '85, Mexico City, 

[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 83 



Inquiry 309 




ERGO- 4000 is the ASCII Terminal featuring 
80-column by 66-line format for full-page dis- 
play capability. Features include: 15 down- 
loadable function keys, four video attributes, 
pass-through printer port, screen saver, 
alternate character generator, settable tabs, 
24-line display, and user-definable custom 
mode. (Compatible with VT100 codes.) Most 
popular word processing packages are 
already modified to run on the ERGO" 4000. 



micRo-TERm, inc. 

Call toll-free 1-800-325-9056 

512 Rudder Road 
Fenton (St. Louis County), Missouri 63026 



COMPETITIVE EDGE 

P.O. Box 556 • Plymouth, MI 48170 • (313) 451-0665 
THUNDER 186™ SYSTEM $1995. 

Includes 256K RAM, 2-5" Floppys and concurrent DOS® 
expandable to 10 or 40 MB hard disk & up to 4 users. 
TELETEK SYSTEMASTER II® SYSTEM ..$5895. 

With 2 Hi-speed 128K banked slaves, 10MB hard disk and two 
Qume 102 terminals. 

Includes fastest Z80 slaves available. 

WE INTEGRA TE SYSTEMS 
WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPONENTS 

CompuPro® Lomas Data Products 
Teletek 

Sample Component Prices 

CompuPro 286 with 287 chip CPU $1199. 

Disk 1A . . .$459. RAM 22 . . .$995. I/04.. .$297. 

CPUZ™ . . .$215. 85/88 . . .$327. RAM 23-64™ . . .$309. 
LDP 286 . . .$1116. LDP Hi-speed 512K . . .$899. 

Color Magic™ . . .$496. Thunder 186™ . . .$1 195. 

Teletek Systemaster II® 8MHZ Z80 $899. 

Teletek HDCTC® Hard Disk Controller $525. 

QUME 102 GR . . .$450. C. ITOH 8510 PTR . . .$350. 

DRI FORTRAN . . .$250. COMP. Inovation C . . .$299. 

All prices subject to change and 

stock on hand shipping extra min. $3. 

ALL PRICES CASH PRICES 

Concurrent DOS is registered treademark of Digital Research Inc. RAM 23, CPU 
286/287, CPU Z, RAM 22, are trademarks of CompuPro a Godbout Company. 
Thunder 186, Color Magic trademarks of LDP Inc. Systemaster II & HDCTC are 
registered trademarks of Teletek Enterprises Inc. 



EVENT QUEUE 



Mexico. This show features 
mini- and microcomputers, 
software, office automation 
equipment, and communica- 
tions exhibits. Contact Mex- 
Com. Suite 219, 3421 M St. 
NW, Washington, DC 20007, 
(703) 685-0600. 
February 2 5-28 

• FARM AUTOMATION 

Agri-Mation, Palmer House 
Hotel, Chicago, 1L. This con- 
ference and exposition will 
focus on the role of automa- 
tion in agriculture. Contact 
the Society of Manufacturing 
Engineers, One SME Dr., 
FOB 930, Dearborn, MI 
48121, (313) 271-1500. 
February 2 5-28 

• DYNAMIC COMPUTING 

Dynamics on Microcom- 
puters, University of Michi- 
gan. Dearborn. A course 
and workshop for engineers. 
Contact Professor R. E. 
Little, University of 
Michigan, 4901 Evergreen 
RcL Dearborn, MI 48128, 
(313) 593-5241. 
February 2 5 -March 1 

• HIGH-TECH IN FOCUS 

High-Tech '85 Exhibit and 
Seminar, Thunderbird Motel, 
Bloomington, MN. More 
than 100 manufacturers will 
exhibit terminals, periph- 
erals, data-communications 
equipment, and digital test 
instruments. Admission is 
free. Contact John Bastys or 
Barb Mueller, Countryman 
Associates Co., 1821 Univer- 
sity Ave., St. Paul, MN 
55104, (612) 645-9151. 
February 26-27 

• MICRO-AIDED MANAGE- 
MENT— Microcomputer- 
aided Maintenance Manage- 
ment System, Ramada Inn, 
Airport, Milwaukee, WI. This 
course shows how com- 
puters can help improve the 
maintenance functions of 
any organization. The fee is 
$60. Contact Unik Asso- 
ciates, 12 545 West Burleigh, 
Brookfield. Wl 53005, (414) 
782-5030. February 27 



March 1985 

• DISCOVER UNIX 

Discover UNIX, various sites 
throughout the U.S. A two- 
day seminar exploring such 
topics as the UNIX file 
system, shell interpreter, text 
editors, programming lan- 
guages, and system tools. 
The fee is $595. Contact 
Data-Tech Institute, 57 Lake- 
view Plaza, POB 2429, Clif- 
ton, NJ 07015, (201) 
478-5400. March 

• COMPUTERS FOR SALE 

Computer Supermarket, San 
Mateo County Fairgrounds, 
San Mateo, CA. A gathering 
of retailers, manufacturers, 
distributors, and potential 
consumers of a wide variety 
of computer-related prod- 
ucts. Contact Micros hows, 
Suite 203. 1209 Donnelly 
Ave., Burlingame, CA 94010, 
(415) 340-9113. March 2-3 

• FOSE SOFTWARE SHOW 

Federal Office Systems Ex- 
position (FOSE) Software 
'85, Convention Center, 
Washington, DC. Workshops, 
symposia, and exhibits of 
software. Contact Rosalind 
Boesch, National Trade Pro- 
ductions Inc., Suite 400, 
2111 Eisenhower Ave., Alex- 
andria, VA 22314, (800) 
638-8510; in Virginia, (703) 
683-8500. March 4-7 

• MINI/MICRO 

Mini/Micro Southeast-85, 
Georgia World Congress 
Center, Atlanta. A con- 
ference and exposition. Con- 
tact Electronic Conventions 
Management, 8110 Airport 
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 
90045, (213) 772-2965. 
March 5-7 

• DESIGN SHOW 

The 1985 National Design 
Engineering Show, McCor- 
mick Place, Chicago, IL, 
More than 600 CAD/CAM 
system and electronic com- 
ponent companies will ex- 
hibit. Contact the Show 
Manager, National Design 



84 BYTE * FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 54 



EVENT QUEUE 



Engineering Show, 999 Sum- 
mer St., Stamford. CT 06905. 
(203) 964-0000. March 11-14 

• DATACOMM FROM ALL 

ANGLES— Data Communica- 
tions: Technology, Tech- 
niques, and Applications, 
Tarrytown Hilton. Tarrytown. 
NY. This seminar covers 
existing and emerging 
technologies, data compres- 
sion techniques and applica- 
tions, multiplexers, protocol 
conversion, data security, 
and local-area networks. The 
fee is $150. Contact Glasgal 
Communications Inc., 207 
Washington St., Northvale. 
NJ 07647. (201) 768-8082. 
March 12 

• ACM COMPUTER 
CONFERENCE-The Thir- 
teenth Annual ACM Com- 
puter Science Conference: 
CSC '85. New Orleans Mar- 
riott, LA. An employment 
register, social events, 
technical programs, award 
presentations, and exhibits 
are highlights of this show. 
Contact Delia T. Bonnette, 
Conference Chair, Com- 
puting and Information Ser- 
vices, University of South- 
western Louisiana, Lafayette, 
LA 70504. (318) 231-6306. 
March 12-14 

• EDUCATIONAL 
CONFERENCE-The 1985 
Microcomputers in Educa- 
tion Conference, Arizona 
State University. Tempe. The 
theme for this conference is 
"Tomorrow's Technology." 
Emphasis will be placed on 
integrating computer tech- 
nology and languages into 
the educational environ- 
ment. Exhibits will be 
featured. Contact Donna 
Craighead. Payne B47, 
Arizona State University, 
College of Education. 
Tempe, AZ 85287. (602) 
965-7363. March 13-15 

• SIMULATION IN 
SUNSHINE— The Eighteenth 
Annual Simulation Sym- 
posium* Tampa, FL. A forum 



for the interchange of ideas, 
techniques, and applications 
among those working in 
simulation. Contact Alex- 
ander Kran, IBM Corp.. East 
Fishkill Facility, Hopewell 
Junction, NY 12533. 
March 13-15 

• INTERFACING 
WORKSHOP-Personal Com- 
puter and STD Computer In- 
terfacing for Scientific Instru- 
ment Automation, Virginia 
Tech, Blacksburg. A hands- 
on workshop with partici- 
pants wiring and testing in- 
terfaces. The fee is $450. 
Contact Dr. Linda Leffel. 
C.E.C, Virginia Polytechnic 
Institute and State Univer- 
sity, Blacksburg, VA 24061, 
(703) 961-4848. March 14-16 

• SHOW IN DELAWARE 

The Seventh Annual 
Delaware Computer Fa ire, 
Delaware State College, 
Dover. Current technology 
for use in the classroom, of- 
fice, and home will be dis- 
played. Workshops, demon- 
strations, and sessions on 
the use of computers in the 
classroom are planned. Con- 
tact Dr. William J. Geppert. 
State Supervisor, Mathe- 
matics, Department of 
Public Instruction, Townsend 
Building, POB 1402, Dover, 
DE 19903, (302) 736-4885. 
March 16 

• CLASSROOM 
COMPUTING TECHNIQUES 

Instructional Strategies for 
Integrating the Microcom- 
puter into the Classroom, 
University of Wisconsin, 
Madison. A special em- 
phasis is placed on strate- 
gies that have already 
proved successful. Hands-on 
sessions will be offered. 
Contact Dr. Judith Roden- 
stein or Dr. Roger Lambert, 
University of Wisconsin, 964 
Educational Sciences Build- 
ing, 102 5 West Johnson St., 
Madison, WI 53706. (608) 
263-4367 or 263-2704. 
March 18-19 

{continued) 



100% FLAWLESS 
COPIES . . . 

. . .FAST! 



No need to tie up your valuable computer to duplicate 
diskettes . . . when VICTORY can provide you with a 
duplicator that will do the job flawlessly, and much 
faster. One button operation automatically formats, 
duplicates and verifies up to 8 diskette copies at the 
same time. 

VICTORY can supply you with literally dozens of 
standardized formats to match the protocol of virtually 
any current computer. In addi- 
tion, built-in utilities enable 
you to read or devise any for- 
mat you may requite. If that's 
not enough, VICTORY can 
help you with unusual or 
unique formatting, serializing 
or copy-protecting problems. 

VICTORY duplicators are 
designed to be reliable. Each 
of the copy drives has a 
separate controller to increase 
copying throughput and 
ensure maximum uptime. 
VICTORY Duplicators use 
industry proven drives com- 
bined with 100% digital tech- 
nology . . . there are no 
analog circuits to slowly drift 
out of tolerance. 

Let us help free you from 
your disk-duplicating bottle- 
neck at a surprisingly 
attractive price. Write or call: 
VICTORY ENTERPRISES 
TECHNOLOGY, INC., 8910 
Research Blvd., Suite B2, 
Austin, Texas 78758— 
(512)450-0801. 




Victory Enterprises 
Technology, Inc. 



Inquiry 323 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 85 



Inquiry 22 



The Little Board ♦♦. $349* 

The world's simplest and least expensive CP/M computer 



CP/M 2.2 

INCLUDED 




"UNDER $200 IN 
OEM QUANTITIES 



Z80A is a registered trademartt of Zilog. Inc 
CP/M is a registered rrademar* of Digital Research 



• 4 MHz Z80A CPU, 64K RAM, Z80A CTC, 2732 Boot ROM 

• Mini Micro Floppy controller (1-4 Drives, Single/Double Density, 1-2 sided, 40/80 track) 
■ Only 5.75 x 7.75 inches, mounts directly to a 5 1/4" floppy drive 

• 2 RS232C Serial Ports (75-9600 baud & 75-38,400 baud), 1 Centronics Printer Port 

• Power Requirement: -5VDC at 75A; +12VDC at .05A/On-board -12V converter 

• CP/M 2.2 BDOS • ZCPR3 CCP • Enhanced AMPRO BIOS 

• AMPRO Utilities included: 

• read/write to more than 2 dozen other formats (Kaypro, Televidco, IBM CP/M86... 

• format disks for more than a dozen other computers 

• menu-based system customization 

• BIOS and Utilities Source Code Available 

• SCSI/PLUS Adapter : 

• Mounts directly to Little Board 

• Slave I/O board control • Full ANSC X3T9.2 

• 16 bidirectional I/O lines • $99/Quantity 1 



...) 



DISTRIBUTORS 



Argentina-Factorial, SA 1-41-0018 

Australia-ASP Microcomputers 613-500-0628 

Bergium<entre Oectronique Lempereur 041-23-45-41 
Canada-Electronic Sales Assoc (604) 986-5447 

Dcnmark-Oanbit 03-66-20-20 



XL 



COMPUTERS INCORPORATED 



England-Quant Systems 

Finland- Symmetric OY 
France-Alain Lequeux 
Israel-Alpha Terminals 
Spam-Xenios Informatics 
Sweden-AB AKTA 
USA Digital Distributors (CA) . 
Peripheral Business Systems (WA) 
Dorado Business Systems (NY/NJ) 



. 01-534-3158 

358-0-585-322 

1-525-6960 

03-491695 

3-593-0822 

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408-423- 15S6 

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J 



When Vour 
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Distributor Inquiries Welcome 



EVENT QUEUE 



• EXPOSING THE MYTH 
OF MICROS-Pubiic Aware- 
ness Seminars. Hyatt Regen- 
cy, Los Angeles, CA. A 
seminar that shows nontech- 
nical businesspeople how a 
microcomputer could be 
used to increase productivi- 
ty. Contact International 
Microcomputer Industries 
Association, Suite 175, 21 
Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte 
Madera, CA 9492 5. (415) 
924-1194. March 18-19 

• COMPUTERS AND 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

COMTEL '85: International 
Computer and Telecommuni- 
cations Conference, Info- 
mart, Dallas. TX. Contact 
COMTEL '85. Suite 600, 
13740 Midway Rd., Dallas, 
TX 75244, (214) 458-7011. 
March 18-20 

• TECHNOLOGY AND 
EDUCATION-The First An- 
nual Conference on Technol- 
ogies in Education. Univer- 
sity of Arizona, Tucson. This 
conference will focus on the 
effective implementation of 
research in educational 
technology. Contact Steve 
Louie, NACC1S, Suite 12 5, 
2200 East River Rd.. Tucson, 
AZ 85718, (602) 323-6144. 
March 18-20 

• ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY 
UPDATE-The Second An- 
nual Robotic End Effectors: 
Design and Applications 
Seminar, Holiday Inn 
Livonia-West, Livonia, MI. 
More than 25 companies 
will exhibit. Contact John 
Mc Each ran, Special Pro- 
grams Department, Society 
of Manufacturing Engineers, 
One SME Dr., POB 930, 
Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 
271-1500, ext. 382. 

March 19-20 

• Al FOR ROBOTS 

Aircon 2: The Second An- 
nual International Con- 
ference on Artificial In- 
telligence for Robots, Stouf- 
fers Concourse in Crystal 
City Arlington, VA. A con- 



ference designed to pro- 
mote a dialogue between 
experts and users of arti- 
ficial-intelligence systems. 
The theme is "Toward In- 
telligent Robots: The Droids 
Are Coming." Contact Cindy 
Mega, I IT Research Institute, 
10 West 3 5th St., Chicago, IL 
60616, (312) 567-4024. 
March 21-22 

• EDUCATION AND 

COMPUTING-Educational 
Computing Today, Westin 
Hotel, Renaissance Center, 
Detroit, Ml. Kindergarten, 
elementary, high school, and 
college educators will share 
educational computing ex- 
periences. Contact Michigan 
Association for Computer 
Users in Learning, 
MACUL/ICCE Conference, 
POB 628, Westland, Ml 
48185, (313) 595-2493. 
March 21-22 

• ELEMENTARY 
COMPUTING— University of 
Delaware Second National 
Conference: Computers and 
Young Children, University 
of Delaware, Newark. The 
emphasis is on programs for 
children 4 to 8 years of age 
Contact Dr. Richard B. 
Fischer Division of Continu- 
ing Education, University of 
Delaware, Newark, DE 
19716, (302) 451-8838. 
March 21-22 

• WINTER COMDEX 

COMDEX/Winter. Convention 
Center Anaheim, CA. One 
of the largest shows in the 
microcomputer industry 
Contact The Interface Group, 
300 First Ave., Need ham, 
MA 02194, (800) 325-3330: 
in Massachusetts, (617) 
449-6660. March 21-24 

• DATABASE SYMPOSIUM 

The Fourth Annual ACM 
SIGACT/SIGMOD Symposium 
on Principles of Database 
Systems. Portland, OR. This 
conference covers develop- 
ments in the theoretical and 
practical aspects of database 
[continued) 



86 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 37 



Introducing the Most Powerful 
Business Software Ever! 

TRS-80" (Model I, II, III, or 16) • APPLE " • IBM™ • OSBORNE" • CP/NT" • XEROX™ 







The VersaBusiness" Series 

Each VERSABUSINESS module can be purchased and used independently, 
or can be linked in any combination to form a complete, coordinated business system. 



VERSARECEIVABLES t " $99.95 

VERSA RECBVABLES™ is a complete menu -driven accounts receivable, invoicing, and 
monthly statement -gene rating system. It keeps track of all information related to who 
owes you or your company money, and can provide automatic billing for past due ac- 
counts. VERSA REC EI VABLES"* prints all necessary statements, invoices, and summary 
reports and can be linked with VERSA LEDGER IP and VERSAlNVENTORY"". 

VERSAPAYABLES™ $99.95 

VERSA PAYABLES™ is designed to keep track of current and aged payables, keeping you 
in touch with all information regarding how much money your company owes, and to 
whom. VERSA PAYABLES™ maintains a complete record on each vendor, prints checks, 
check registers, vouchers, transaction reports, aged payables reports, vendor reports, 
and more. With VERSA PAYABLES™, you can even let your computer automatically select 
which vouchers are to be paid. 

VERSAPaYROLL™ $99 95 

VERSA PAYROLL™ is a powerful and sophisticated, but easy to use payroll system that 
keeps track of all government -required payroll information. Complete employee records 
are maintained, and all necessary payroll calculations are performed automatically, with 
totals displayed on screen for operator approval. A payroll can be run totally, automati- 
cally, or the operator can intervene to prevent a check from being printed, or to alter 
information on it. If desired, totals may be posted to the VERSA LEDGER IT" system. 

VERSAlNVENTORY™ $99.95 

VERSA KVENTORY™ is a complete inventory control system that gives you instant access 
to data on any item. VERSA INVENTORY™ keeps track of alt information related to what 
items are in stock, out of stock, on backorder, etc., stores sales and pricing data, alerts 
you when an item falls below a preset reorder point, and allows you to enter and print 
invoices directly or to link with the VERSA RECEIVABLES™ system. VERSA INVENTORY™ prints 
all needed inventory listings, reports of items below reorder point, inventory value re- 
ports, period and year-to-date sales reports, price lists, inventory checklists, etc. 

•CQMPLURQMCS! 

50 N. PASCACK ROAD, SPRING VALLEY, NY, 10977 



VERSALEDGER IP $149.95 

VersaLedger IF" is a complete accounting system that grows as your business 
grows. VersaLedger IP can be used as a simple personal checkbook register, 
expanded to a small business bookkeeping system or developed into a large 
corporate general ledger system without any additional software. 

• VERSALEDGER 11™ gives you almost unlimited storage capacity 

(300 to 10,000 entries per month, depending on the system), 

• stores all check and general ledger information forever, 

• prints tractor-feed checks, 

• handles multiple checkbooks and general ledgers, 

• prints 17 customized accounting reports including check registers, 
balance sheets, income statements, transaction reports, account 
listings, etc. 

VersaLedger If" comes with a professionally-written 160 page manual de- 
signed for first-time users. The VersaLedger IP" manual will help you become 
quickly familiar with VERSA LEDGER 11™, using complete sample data files 
supplied on diskette and more than 50 pages of sample printouts. 



SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! 



Every VERSABUSINESS™ module is guaranteed to outperform all other competitive systems, 
and at a fraction of their cost. If you are not satisfied with any VERSABUSINESS™ module, you 
may return it within 30 days for a refund. Manuals for any VERSABUSINESS™ module may be 
purchased for $25 each, credited toward a later purchase of that module. 



To Order: 



Write or call Toll-free (800) 43 1-28 18 

(N.Y.S. residents call 914-425-1535) 



* add $3 for shipping in UPS areas 

* add $4 for CO. D. or non-UPS areas 

Inquiry 127 «jj 

DEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME 

All prices and specifications subject to change 



• add $5 to CANADA or MEXICO 

* add proper postage elsewhere 



Delivery subject to availability. 



* TRS-80 is a trademark of the Radio Shack Division of Tandy Corp. - * APPLE is a trademark of Apple Corp. - *IBM is a trademark of IBM Corp. - *OSBORNE is a trademark of Osborne Corp. 

•CP/M is a trademark of Digital Research - *XEROX is a trademark of Xerox Corp. 




% 



A black border may appear around the Palette slide image, 
which will be imperceptible when projected. 



Now last minute presentations 

can be made from 

your personal computer. 

In color. In house. Inminutes. 



Introducing Polaroid Palette. 



Whether your presentation is in 30 
minutes or 30 days, the new Polaroid 
Palette Computer Image Recorder will 
make it easier. Priced at under $1800* it 
lets you make Polaroid instant 35mm 
slides or prints from personal 
computer-generated data. Right at your 
desk. So now you can create a presen- 
tation in minutes. Without sending out 
for processing, paying premiums for 
rush service or risking the security of 
your confidential information. 

Works with the graphics 

packages of the IBM PC or XT, 

DEC Rainbow or PRO, Apple He 

or 11+ and AT&T 6300. 

The Polaroid Palette is designed to 
work with many graphics software 
packages. In fact, when using such 
popular programs as Graphwriter, 
Chart-Master, Sign-Master, DR Draw 
and DR Graph, Palette can virtually 
double both the horizontal and vertical 
resolution of your monitor. Plus, a 

Inquiry 254 



"backfill" feature reduces raster lines 
for a smoother, more finished appear- 
ance. The result— presentation quality 
slides. On-the-spot. 

Color 35mm slides, even from a 
black and white CRT 
Think of it as an artist s palette. Be- 
cause Palette "paints" your graphs, 
charts and text. You're choosing from 
up to 72 colors. If you don't want red, 
press a few keys— it's green. And if 
you're not the artistic-type, Polaroid 
has developed a menu of color sets: 
combinations of colors that have been 
specially coordinated to complement 
your presentations. And all of this is 
yours, even if you have a black and 
white monitor. 

Lets you make last minute 

changes or add 

up-to-the-minute information. 

The Polaroid Palette is the fast, con- 
venient, low-cost way to prepare slides 
for your presentation. And perhaps 



even more important, Palette allows 
you to keep confidential information 
confidential. You won't have to send 
your work out to anyone again. 

So why wait until the last minute to 
find out about Polaroid Palette? Call 
this toll-free number or return this 
coupon. Because with Palette you'll 
make your deadlines, in no time. 



For a demonstration, call toll-free, or mail the 
coupon to Polaroid Corp., E.I. Marketing, Dept. 
604, 575 Technology Sq., Cambridge, MA 02139. 

CALL 1-800-225-1618 

□ Send information. □ Have representative call. 



Name- 



Co mpany- 
Address — 
City 



. Zip- 



Telephone i 

PC make and model- 



■ Polaroid 



B-2/85 j 
"Suggested list price. Polaroid* 

FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 89 




Apple II, lie, ///and Apple compatible. 

Universal for virtually all standard parallel 

printers. 

Famous for Graphics (LoRes, HIRes, SuperRes) 

(Logo Compatible) 

Terrific tor text (even rotates spreadsheets to 

print sidewards) 
One set of commands for all printers. One 
command changes character sizes, Create 
your own printing fonts, alphabets and sym- 
bols . . . bold face, underline, italics, subscript 
and superscript HIRes Zooming. 




PLUS: 



FREE Utility and Demon- 
stration Software Disk. 
CLEAR, comprehensive 
user documentation. 
PKASO/U ... for all the 
reasons you need an 
Interface 
Contact us for a list of Authorized Dealers near you. 



«s 



Interactive Structures, Inc. 
446 Montgomery Avenue 
Bala Oynwyd, PA 19004 
Telephone: (245) 667-4713 



EVENT QUEUE 



systems. Contact David 
Maier. Department of Com- 
puter Science Oregon Grad 
Center, 19600 Northwest 
Walker Rd. Beaverton, OR 
97006. March 25-27 

• OPTICAL STORAGE 
TECHNIQUES-The Third 
Annual Conference on Op- 
tical Storage of Documents 
and Images, Shoreham 
Hotel, Washington, DC. Con- 
tact Technology Opportunity 
Conference, POB 14817, San 
Francisco. CA 94H4-0817. 
(415) 626-1133. March 25-27 

• CAI INVESTIGATED 

The Twenty-Sixth Interna- 
tional Conference of the 
Association for the Develop- 
ment of Computer-based In- 
structional Systems, 
Philadelphia, PA. Presenta- 
tions and panel discussions 
will explore the research 
and use of computers for 
direct instruction. Interest 
groups for educators. Con- 
tact ADCIS International 
Headquarters, Miller Hall 
409, Western Washington 
University, Bellingham, WA 
98225. March 25-28 

• INTEGRATION, COMMU- 
NICATIONS, COMPUTERS 

IEEE INFOCOM '85, 
Washington, DC Papers will 
address such issues as archi- 
tecture, protocols, gateways, 
and support. Contact Tom 
Stack, IEEE INFOCOM '85, 
POB 639, Silver Spring, MD 
20901. (301) 589-8142. 
March 2 5-28 

• MACHINE VISION EYED 

The Applied Machine Vision 
Conference and Vision '85 
Exposition, Cobo Hall, 
Detroit, MI. Contact Society 
of Manufacturing Engineers, 
One SME Dr., POB 930, 
Dearborn, MI 48121, (313) 
271-0777. March 25-28 

• JOINT CONFERENCE IN 

MINNESCTA-Updata '85: 
The Seventh Annual Minne- 
sota Joint Computer Con- 
ference, Radisson South 



Hotel, Bloom ington, MN. A 
conference for data-pro- 
cessing professionals. The 
theme is "Meeting Tomor- 
row's Challenge Today!" 
Contact Mick Williams, Stan- 
dard Iron. 4990 North Coun- 
ty Rd. 18, New Hope, MN 
55428, (612) 533-1110. 
March 28-29 

• WESTERN EDUCATORS 

MEET— Western Educational 
Computing Workshops, Uni- 
versity of California, Santa 
Cruz. A series of workshops 
and demonstrations that 
give educators hands-on ex- 
perience with computer ap- 
plication packages and com- 
puter hardware. Contact Hal 
Roach, Computer Services. 
Mount San Antonio College, 
1100 North Grand Ave.. 
Walnut. CA 94542. 
March 28-29 

• WEST COAST FAIRE 

The Tenth Annual West 
Coast Computer Faire, 
Moscone Center, San Fran- 
cisco, CA. This is one of the 
largest computer shows. 
Contact Computer Faire Inc.. 
Suite 201, 181 Wells Ave.. 
Newton Falls, MA 02159. 
(800) 826-2680; in Massa- 
chusetts. (617) 965-8350. 
March 30-Apri/ 2 

• COMPUTERFEST 

The 1985 Greater Baltimore 
Hamboree and Computer- 
fest, Maryland State Fair- 
grounds, Timonium. Exhibits, 
flea market, and forums 
highlight this annual event. 
Admission is $4, and the 
gates open at 8 a.m. Con- 
tact Baltimore Amateur 
Radio Club Inc., POB 95, 
Timonium, MD 21093-0095, 
(301) 561-1282. March 31 

• FOCUS ON SOFTWARE 

Softcon, Georgia World Con- 
gress Center, Atlanta. The 
Spring and Fall Softcons 
have been merged into this 
event. Nearly 3000 software 
vendors are expected to 
participate. Seminars, panel 
discussions, forums, and 



90 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 153 



EVENT QUEUE 



workshops are planned. 
Registration is $3 5 for 
exhibits-only admission or 
$195 for a four-day con- 
ference and exhibits badge. 
Contact Softcon, Northeast 
Expositions, 822 Boylston 
St., Chestnut Hill, MA 02167, 
(617) 739-2000. 
March 31 -April 3 

• TELECONFERENCING 

SEMINAR— Teleconferencing 
in the Marketplace, Interna- 
tional Congress Centre RAI, 
Amsterdam, The Nether- 
lands. A seminar for users 
and suppliers of telecon- 
ferencing services and 
facilities. For further informa- 
tion, contact International 
Congress and Convention 
Association, POB 5343, 
1007 AH Amsterdam, The 
Netherlands. 
March 3 1 -April 3 

• MICROPROCESSOR IDEA 
EXCHANGE-The 1985 

Microprocessor Forum, 
Bally's Park Place Casino 
Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ. 
Tutorials, forums, and ex- 
hibits will be held. A robotic 
maze contest will be held. 
On April 1 and 2, the 1985 
IEEE VLSI Test Workshop 
will be held. Contact IEEE 
Computer Society, Suite 300. 
1109 Spring St., Silver 
Spring, MD 20910, (301) 
589-8142. March 31-Apri! 4 

April 1985 

• GULF COAST SHOW 

The Second Annual Gulf 
Computer & Office Show, 
Rivergate Convention 
Center, New Orleans, LA. 
Seminars, workshops, and 
product displays. Contact 
Gulf Computer & Office 
Show Management, c/o 119 
Avant Garde, Kenner, LA 
70065, (504) 467-9949. 
April 2-4 

• MEET SOME NETWORKS 

Introduction to Network 
Architectures, Atlanta, GA. 
This course provides an 



understanding of the role of 
network architectures and 
explains their many forms. 
The fee is $795. Contact 
Elaine Hadden Nicholas, 
Department of Continuing 
Education, Georgia Institute 
of Technology, Atlanta, GA 
30332-0385, (404) 894-2547. 
April 2-4 

• ENGINEERING WITH 
MODULA-2— Software Engi- 
neering with Modula-2, 
Atlanta, GA. See February 
20-22 for details. April 3-5 

• COMMUNICATIONS 
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE 
NONVERBAL— The Fourth 
Annual Conference on Com- 
munication Technology: 
Technology and Nonspeak- 
ing Children, Joseph Stokes 
Auditorium, Children's 
Hospital of Philadelphia, PA. 
Up-to-the-minute information 
on the use of technology 
with nonverbal children will 
be presented. Concurrent 
sessions will address on- 
going research, computers, 
and treatment strategies. 
The registration fee is $95. 
Contact loan Bruno, 
Children's Seashore House, 
4100 Atlantic Ave., POB 
4111, Atlantic City, NJ 
08404, (609) 345-5191, ext. 
278. April 12-13 

• GRAPHICS 

Computer Graphics '85, 
Dallas, TX. Tutorials and 
technical sessions on archi- 
tectural and engineering 
computer graphics, artificial 
intelligence, business graph- 
ics, and CAD/CAM. Contact 
National Computer Graphics 
Association, Suite 601, 8401 
Arlington Blvd., Fairfax, VA 
22031, (703) 698-9600. 
April 14-18 

• OPTICAL STORAGE 
INVESTIGATED-The 1985 
Materials Research Society: 
Symposium D, Golden Gate- 
way Holiday Inn, San Fran- 
cisco, CA. A mass-storage 
technologies symposium in- 

{continued) 



High performance to cost ratio... 

Programming Chips? 



Projects develop profitably with development hardware /software from GTEK. 




MODEL 7956 

(with RS232 option) .... $1099. 
MODEL 7956 (stand alone) $ 979. 

GTEK's outstanding Gang Pro- 
grammer with intelligent 
algorithm can copy 8 EPROMS at 
a time! This unit is used in a pro- 
duction environment when pro- 
gramming a large number of chips 
is required. It will program all 
popular chips on the market 
through the 27512 EPROMS. It 
also supports the Intel 2 7 64 A & 
27 128 A chips. It will also program 
single chip processors. 



MODEL 7228 - $599 
This model has all the features 
of Model 7128, plus Intelligent 
Programming Algorithims. It 
supports the newest devices 
available through 512Kbits; pro- 
grams 6x as fast as standard 
algorithims. Programs the 2764 in 
one minute! Supports Intel 2 7 64 A 
& 27 128 A chips. Supports 
Tektronics, Intel, Motorola and 
other formats. 



EPROM & PAL 

PROGRAMMERS 

— Tnese features are standard from GTEK— 
Compatible with all RS232 serial interface ports • Auto select baud rate • With or without hand- 
shaking • Bidirectional Xon/Xoff • CTS/DTR supported • Read pin compatible ROMS • No per- 
sonality modules • Intel Motorola, MCS86 Hex formats • Split facility for 16 bit data paths • 
Read program, formatted hst commands • Interrupt driven — program and verify real time while 
sending data • Program single byte, block, or whole EPROM • Intelligent diagnostics discern bad 
and/or erasable EPROM • Verify assure and compare commands • Busy tight * Complete with 
Textool zero insertion force socket and integral 120 VAC power (240 VAC50Hz availabM • 




MODEL 7324- $1199 

This unit has a built-in compiler. 
The Model 7324 programs all 
MM I. National and TI 20 and 24 
pin PALs. Has non-volatile 
memory. It operates stand alone 
or via RS232. 

MODEL 7316 Pal Programmer $ 599 

Programs Series 20 PALs. Built-in PALASM compiler. 

DEVICES SUPPORTED 



MODEL 7128 - $429 

This model has the highest 
performance-to-price-ratio of any 
unit. This is GTEK's most popular 
unit! It supports the newest 
devices available through 
2 56 Kbits. 



by GTEK's EPROM Programmers 



NMOS 



NMOS 



2758 2764A 2508 68764 

2716 27128 2516 8755 

2732 27128A 2532 5133 

2732A 27256 2564 5143 

2764 27512 68766 



CMOS 

27C16 

27C16H 

27C32H 

27C64 

27C256 



EEPROM 



MPU'S 



5213 I2816A 8748 8741H 

5213H I2817A 8748H 8744 

52B13 8749H 8751 

X2816 8741 68705 



48016 



8742H 



UTILITY PACKAGES 

GTEK's PGX Utility Packages will allow you to specify a range of addresses to 
send to the programmer, verify erasure and/or set the EPROM type. The PGX Utili- 
ty Package includes GHEX, a utility used to generate an Intel HEX file. 

PALX Utility Package — for use with GTEK's Pal Programmers — allows 
transfer of PALASM® source file or ASCII HEX object code file. 

Both utility packages are available for CPM,® MSDOS,® PCDOS,® ISIS® and 
TRSDOS® operating systems. Call for pricing. 

AVOCET CROSS ASSEMBLERS 

These assemblers are available to handle the 8748, 8751, Z8, 6502, 68X and other 
microprocessors. They are available for CPM and MSDOS computers. When order- 
ing, please specify processor and computer types. 

ACCESSORIES 



Model 7128-L1, L2, L2A 

(OEM Quantity) $259. 

Model 7128-24 $329. 

Cross Assemblers $200. 

PGX Utilities Call for pricing 

PALX Call for pricing 

GTek 



XASM (for MSDOS) $250. 

U/V Eraser DE-4 $ 80. 

RS232 Cables $ 30. 

8751 Adapter $174. 

8755 Adapter $135. 

48 Family Adapter $ 98. 

68705 Programmer $ 



Development Hardware/Software 
P.O. Box 289, Waveland, MS 39576 
601/467-8048 
,INC. 



GTEK, PALASM, CPM, MSDOS, PCDOS, ISIS, and TRSDOS 
are all registered trademarks. 



Inquiry 126 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 91 



Inquiry 228 



When You Want The Best, Call. 



National Business Software and Supplies 



Macintosh 



MULTIMATE 
PFS FILE 
PFS REPORT 
PFS WRITE 
SYMPHONY 
LOTUS 1-2*3 
TURBO GIFT PACK 
WORDSTAR 
SIDEKICK 



$285 FLIGHT SIMULATOR $ 35 

89 NIULTIPLAN 125 

79 DESK ORGANIZER CALL 

89 BANKSTREET WRITER CALL 

CALL MacFORTH 98 

CALL PRO KEY 59 

72 PRO KEY 3.0 82 

229 NORTON UTILITIES 55 

35 R BASE 4000 268 



TEAC#55-B DRIVES FOR IBM PC 
& COMPATIBLES DS/DD $139 

Ribbons and Printwheels 

EPSON-OKIDATA-NEC-DIABLO, ETC. 

call for prices 

(602)967-5681 \~^sT Mon-Fri 

500 W. Broadway, Ste, 116 8AM-5PM 

* .-*«-««« MasterCard 

Tempe, AZ 85282 I I 



No cash refunds — all sates final. 20% restocking fee. Add $5 for credit card 
purchases. AZ residents add 6%. Prices subject to change, product subject to 
availability. Allow two weeks for person a I /company checks to clear. All items are 
new with manufacturers warranty. Software not warranted for suitability of pur- 
pose. Shipping and handling add $5 per order. Minimum order $50. 




EVENT QUEUE 



vestigating optical data 
storage. Contact D. H. 
Davies, Symposium Co-Chair, 
3M, 420 North Bernardo 
Ave., Mountain View, CA 
94043. April 15- 18 

• INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE 
EXPO-The Second 
CIMCOM: Industrial Soft- 
ware Conference & Exposi- 
tion, Disneyland Hotel, 
Anaheim, CA. Contact Com- 
puter and Automated Sys- 
tems Association of the 
Society of Manufacturing 
Engineers, One SME Dr., 
POB 930, Dearborn, MI 
48121, (313) 271-1500. 
April 16-18 

• TRAINING AND 
TECHNOLOGY-The Third 

Annual Technology in Train- 
ing and Education (TITE) 
Conference, Antler's Hotel, 
Colorado Springs, CO. A 
conference designed to 
facilitate the interchange of 
ideas and to explore ways 
that computers and tech- 
nology can be applied to 
education and training. 
Contact Lt. Colonel McCann, 
1985 TITE Conference, 
USAFA/DFSR, USAF 
Academy, Colorado Springs, 
CO 80840-5751, (303) 
472-4195. April 16-19 

• NETWORK CONTROL 
AND MANAGEMENT-Net- 

work Management/Technical 
Control, Marriott Copley 
Place, Boston, MA. Diag- 
nostic and test instruments 
will be among the products 
displayed. Contact Louise 
Myerow, CW/Conference 
Management Group, 37 5 
Cochituate RcL POB 880, 
Framingham, MA 01701, 
(800) 22 5-4698; in Massa- 
chusetts. (617) 879-0700. 
April 18-19 

• PATIENT CARE AND 
COMPUTERS-The Second 
Annual Physicians and Com- 
puters: Applications in Pa- 
tient Care, Las Vegas Hilton, 
NV. This conference ad- 
dresses the concerns of 



doctors, nurses, dietitians, 
pharmacists, administrators, 
and medical record adminis- 
trators. Contact Beverly j. 
Johnson. University of 
Southern California School 
of Medicine, Postgraduate 
Division, 202 5 Zonal Ave. 
KAM 318, Los Angeles, CA 
90033. (213) 224-7051. 
April 19-21 

• COMPUTER FESTIVAL 

The Tenth Annual Trenton 
Computer Festival. Trenton 
State College, Trenton, NJ. 
Highlights talks, tutorials, 
user-group activities, ex- 
hibits, computer-graphics 
theater, games, and a 
50-acre outdoor electronics 
flea market. Contact Ms, 
Marilyn Hughes, Trenton 
State College, Hillwood 
Lakes CN 550, Trenton, NJ 
0862 5, (609) 771-2487. 
April 20-21 

• AIDS FOR EDUCATORS 

AEDS/ECOO '85: The 
Twenty-Third Annual Con- 
vention of the Association 
for Educational Data Sys- 
tems (AEDS). Hilton Har- 
bour Castle, Toronto, 
Ontario. The theme is 
"Computing Knows No 
Borders." Contact AEDS/ 
ECOO '85, c/o OISE. 2 52 
Bloor St. W, Toronto, 
Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada. 
In the U.S., AEDS/ECOO 
'85, 1201 16th St. NW, 
Washington, DC 20036. 
April 21-27 

• SPEECH IN FOCUS 

Speech Tech '85, Vista In- 
ternational Hotel, World 
Trade Center, New York 
City. Speakers and ex- 
hibitors will focus on voice 
synthesis and recognition. 
Registration is $195. Contact 
Media Dimensions Inc., POB 
1121 Grade Station, New 
York, NY 10028, (212) 
772-7068 or 680-6451. 
April 22-24 

• PUBLIC NETWORK 
OPERATIONS-X.2 5 and 

[continued) 



92 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 200 



P0WERFM. cei\r sonv/ARF 

nual fcW 



NEVADA 



FORTRAN 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

Nevada FORTRAN is based upon J &^% ^\ Ck^ 
the ANSI-66 standards I ***Ah^#H^7^^ 

{FORTRAN IV) with some x - 

1977 level features. Advanced features include: IF . . . THEN . . . ELSE 
statement; COPY (Include); CHAINing with COMMON; and TRACE 
debugging. Package includes a diskette, 214-page manual and 5 
sample programs. Included also is an 8080 assembler. Requires 48K 
RAM. 

"~~ NEVADA " 

BASIC- 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

I $29.95 



With the built-in, full-screen 

text editor, you can easily 

develop programs for 1/10 the cost 

of a comparable BASIC interpreter. What's more, Nevada BASIC has 

full Matrix operations, Single- and Multi-Line functions, and BCD 

math (no round-off errors). You get a diskette and a 220-page manual. 

Requires 48K RAM. 



NEVADA 

PILOT 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

I $29.95 



Nevada PILOT, written by Prof. 
John Starkweather, the language's 
creator, meets and exceeds all 
PILOT-73 standards. See the review in January 1983 MICROCOMPU- 
TING. This package includes a diskette, 131-page manual, and 10 
useful sample programs. 

WHY WAIT? ORDER YOURS TODAY! 

Satisfaction guaranteed— or your money back. If for any reason 
you're not completely satisfied, just return the package—in good 
condition— with the sealed diskette unopened, within 15 days and 
we'll refund your money. 

Checks must be in U.S. Dollars 

and drawn on a U.S. Bank. 

California deliveries add 6% or 

6.5% sales tax. 

SHIPPING AND HANDLING FEES: Add $4.00 for the first package or 
manual and $2.00 each additional. OVERSEAS: Add $15.00 for the 
first package or manual and $5.00 each additional. COD's: Add 
$4.00. 



o 



WE WELCOME C.O.O.'s 



Since 1977 



ELLIS COMPUTING 



(415)753-0186 

ELLIS COMPUTING, INC. 

3917 Noriega Street 
San Francisco, CA 94122 



NEVADA 

COBOL 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

1 $29.95 



Nevada COBOL, based upon the 

ANSI-74 standards, has all the 

popular features. Powerful level 2 

features include: compound conditionals and full CALL CANCEL. 

This software package includes a diskette, 165-page manual, plenty 

of examples and 16 complete COBOL source code programs. 



NEVADA 

PASCAL 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

Advanced features include: ! S^^Cfl €■■% 

14-Digit precision; BCD math {no I ^4h^7b^7^P 

round-off errors); Floating point ^^— ■ ^— ^— S 

+ 63 -64; TRACE debugging; Arrays up to 8 dimensions; 64K strings; 
External procedures; and Dynamic Module loading. You get a 
diskette and a 184-page manual. Requires 60K RAM and one disk 
drive with at least 90K storage. 

""""" NEVADA 

EDIT 

DISKETTE & MANUAL 

1 $29.95 



Nevada EDIT, a full-screen, 
video-display text editor, is 
designed specifically for computer 
program text preparation. Nevada EDIT is completely user-change- 
able, can be configured to almost any terminal and takes up only 
12K of disk space. This package includes a diskette and 59-page 
manual. 
ALSO AVAILABLE: 

• EXTRA MANUALS $14.95 

• COBOL Application Packages, Book 1 $ 9.95 

• BIG PRINT-Diskette $19.95 

The CP/M Operating System, an 8080, 8085, or Z-80 (8-Bit) micropro- 
cessor, and 32K RAM are required, unless otherwise stated above. 



WHEN YOU ORDER, PLEASE SPECIFY 
FOLLOWING DISKETTE FORMATS: 

D 8" SSSD (Standard CP/M IBM 3740) 
5V4 M Diskettes for: 
D Access/Actrix 

□ Apple CP/M 
D DEC VT 180 
D DEC Rainbow 

□ Epson QX-10 

□ Heath Hard Sector (Z-89) 
D Heath Soft Sector 

(Z-90.Z-100) 
D IBM-PC (Requires Z-80, 
Baby Blue II Card) 



ONE OF THE 

D Kaypro Double Density (NCR) 
D MicropolisModtl 
D NEC PC 8001 

□ North Star Double Density 
D North Star Single Density 
n Osborne Single Density 
D Sanyo 1000, 1050 

D SuperbrainDDDOS3.X 

(51 2 byte sec) 
G Televideo 

□ TRS-80 Model 1 (Base O Mapper) 
D Xerox 820 Single Density 



CP/M is a registered trademark ot Digital Research, Inc Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft 
Corp. TRS-80 ts a registered trademark of Tandy Corp Apple II is a trademark- of Apple Computer, Inc. 
Osborne is a registered trademark of Osborne Computer Corp. Xerox 820 is a trademark of Xerox Corp 
Kaypro is a trademark of Nonlinear Sys Heath/Zentth is a trademark ot Heath Corp. IBM is a registered 
trademark of International Business Machines. Corp Nevada BASIC, Nevada COBOL, Nevada FOR- 
TRAN, Nevada PILOT, Nevada EDIT, Nevada PASCAL, and Ellis Computing are trademarks of Ellis Com- 
puting, Inc. C 1984 Ellis Computing, inc 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 93 



Inquiry 85 for Dealers. Inquiry 86 for End-Users. 



BEFORE YOU BUY 
CABLE ASSEMBLIES, 



Heavy guage 






Gold plated pins 


underhood -^^ 
shield 


*«j 


m 




underhood 


=3 


HI- 


- 22 AWG 

twisted 
conductors 


22 AWG Kf 
wisted conductors ^^g^gifcj 

2mm PVC cover M 


^^jtl Strain reliever 

"^^ Aluminex 
Shield 



CHECK UNDER THE HOOD! 

DATA SPEC™ cable assemblies are the very best. Each 
cable is fully shielded to exceed FCC EMI/RFI emission 
requirements. The unique P.D.T. technique, introduced by 
DATA SPEC™ and employed beneath the hood shield, 
insures maximum integrity under the most adverse 
conditions. DATA SPEC™ has interface cables for all your 
requirements: Printers, Modems, Monitors, Disk Drives, 
and much more. And all DATA SPEC™ cable assemblies 
carry a lifetime warranty. Insist on DATA SPEC™ cables in 
the bright orange package. Available at better computer 
dealers everywhere. For more information, call or write: 

A Division of Alliance Research Corporation 

20120 Plummer Street • Chatsworth, CA 91311 * (818) 993-1202 

Copyright © 1984 by Alliance Research Corporation Patent PUD 



dBASE II 

with 65,000 memory variables, 
arrays, 8087 support, high-speed 

math functions, windows, 
animation, full syntax checking! 

Impossible? 

Not anymore! 

. . . with GRYPHON 

Microproducts' dBASE II 

"add-ins". For PC/MS-DOS. 

Write or call for details. 




microproducts 



P.O. BOX 6543 SILVER SPRING. MO. 20906 
[301)946-2585 



EVENT QUEUE 



Packet Switching Networks, 
Atlanta, GA. This course 
covers the internal opera- 
tions of a packet-switching 
network and its implementa- 
tion. The fee is $795. Con- 
tact Elaine Hadden 
Nicholas, Department of 
Continuing Education, 
Georgia Institute of Tech- 
nology, Atlanta, GA 30332- 
0385, (404) 894-2 547. 
April 23-25 

• TRADE SHOW, 
CONFERENCE-Electro/85 

and Mini/Micro North- 
east-85, New York City. 
Topics: artificial intelligence, 
communications and net- 
works, consumer electronics, 
high-density data storage, 
and personal computing. 
Contact Electronic Conven- 
tions Management, 8110 
Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, 
CA 90045, (213} 772-2965. 
April 23-2 5 

• COMPUTER APPLI- 
CATIONS EXPLORED 

Perscomp '85, Sofia, 
Bulgaria. An international 
conference on the applica- 
tions of personal computers 
and the problems en- 
countered in using them. 
Contact Dr. Marcel Israel, 
Bulgarian Academy of 
Sciences, Institute of In- 
dustrial Cybernetics and 
Robotics, 1113 Sofia, Acad. 
G. Bonchev St., Bl. 12, 
Bulgaria; tel: 72-46-98; 
Telex; 22836 ITKR BG. 
April 23-26 

• MICROS IN EMPIRE 

STATE— The Fourth Annual 
New York Computer Show 
and Software Exposition, 
Nassau County Coliseum, 
Uniondale, NY. Contact Ann 
Katcef. CompuShows, POB 
3315, Annapolis, MD 21403, 
(800) 368-2066; in Annap- 
olis, (301) 263-8044; in 
Baltimore, (301) 269-7694; 
in the District of Columbia, 
(202) 261-1047. April 25-28 

• VIRGINIA COMPUTING 

The Fourth Annual Virginia 



Computer Show and Soft- 
ware Exposition, Pavilion, 
Virginia Beach, VA. Contact 
Ann Katcef, CompuShows, 
POB 3315, Annapolis, MD 
21403, (800) 368-2066; in 
Annapolis, (301) 263-8044; 
in Baltimore, (301) 269- 
7694; in the District of 
Columbia, (202) 261-1047. 
April 25-28 

• EQUIPMENT SALE 

Produx 2000: Wholesale 
Expo '85, Civic Center, 
Philadelphia, PA. Contact 
Vertical Marketing Corp., 
POB 557, Bala Cynwyd, PA 
19004, (800) 523-3882; in 
Pennsylvania, (215) 
4 57-2303. April 26-28 

• C FOR ENGINEERS 

C Programming for Engi- 
neers, University of 
Michigan, Dearborn. A short 
course and workshop. Con- 
tact Professor R. E. Little, 
University of Michigan, 4901 
Evergreen Rd.. Dearborn, MI 
48128. (313) 593-5241. 
April 29-May 3 

• COMMERCIAL Al. 
HIGH-TECH CONFERENCE 

AI '85; Artificial Intelligence 
and Advanced Computer 
Technology Conference/Ex- 
hibition, Convention Center, 
Long Beach, CA. Technical 
sessions, panel discussions, 
and product displays are 
planned. Contact Tower Con- 
ference Management Co., 
331 West Wesley St., 
Wheaton, 1L 60187, (312) 
668-8100. April 30-May 2 

• MEETING ON LINE 

National Online Meeting, 
Sheraton Centre Hotel, New 
York City. Formal paper pre- 
sentations, product review 
sessions, exhibits, and 
special workshops and 
seminars transmitted via 
satellite. Contact Thomas 
Hogan, National Online 
Meeting, Learned Informa- 
tion Inc., 143 Old Marlton 
Pike. Medford, NJ 08055, 
(609) 654-6266. 
April 30-May 2 ■ 



94 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INSTANT LAN 



WITH STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS' NEW ARCNET-PC, ARCNET-S100 OR 
ARCNET-UNK, YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN LOCAL AREA NETWORK. 

The world's first single-chip local area network controller established 
Standard Microsystems as a leader in networking technology. Now we're 
devoting our technical expertise to bring you revolutionary LAN board prod- 
ucts, too. 

Our ARCNET-PC board interconnects up to 255 IBMMype personal com- 
puters, permitting them to share 
disk files and printer resources 




ARCNET-UNK 



ARCNET-PC 



ARCNET-S100 



at an extremely efficient 
2.5 Megabit data rate, 

The ARCNET-S100 board links up to 255 S100 computer systems, providing 
the S100 computer user with a high performance local area network. 

The ARCNET-LINK is a self-contained unit that provides a simplified inter- 
face between equipment with a programmable asynchronous RS-232 port 
and an ARCNET* local area network. 

All three products incorporate SMC's industry-standard MOS/VLSI local area 
network chip set to give you a totally integrated and cost-effective LAN solution. 
Software available from Standard Microsystems and others provides increased 
capability for your networking applications. Standard Microsystems Corpora- 
tion, 35 Marcus Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788. (516) 273-3100. 

STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS 
CORPORATION, 

IBM® is a trademark of the International Business Machines Corporation. 
ARCNET* is a trademark of the Datapoint Corporation. 




Inquiry 297 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 95 




IlA t 




'^n i va- 



BITE 



Features 



The HP Integral Personal Computer THIS MONTH BYTE presents a variety of features including two product 

by Phillip Robinson 98 previews. 

Oarcias Circuit Cellar: Developed under the name "Pisces," Hewlett-Packard's Integral Personal 

Build a Serial EPROM Programmer Computer includes UNIX System III in a transportable package. This product 

by Steve Garcia 104 preview by Phillip Robinson, technical editor on our West Coast staff, takes 

The Macintosh Office an introductory look at the Integral, its major subassemblies, and its capabilities 

by \ohn Markoff and Phillip Robinson .... 120 anc j limitations. The integral uses a built-in electroluminescent flat screen and 
c to Pascal ink-jet printer, but the big news is its incorporation of UNIX in ROM. 

by Ted Carnevale 138 T;he Macintosh continues to provoke lots of love/hate feelings. To bolster 

Simulate a Servo System its attractiveness to business environments, Apple introduced AppI^I&lk, a 

by Don Stauffer 147 local-area network, and the first two in a series of peripherals designed to 

Introduction to Image Processing be networked. Appl^telk, previewed this month by John Markoff and Phillip 

by kffrey L. Star 163 Robinson, is a departure from what we often consider fundamental to a local- 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ area network concept. With only a printer and file server currently available 

Appl^telk is an interesting approach. 

It you are ready to commit your code to EPROM but don't have access to 
an EPROM programmer, or if you would like to learn more about the pro- 
cess, read Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar. This month, Steve shows us how to build 
an EPROM programmer inexpensively This unit attaches to your computer's 
serial port and uses your computer's intelligence. It is also fully documented 
and is easily expandable to work with future EPROM designs. 

Translating programs among various languages (or even between two 
languages) is a wonderful concept but generally difficult to implement. In X 
to Pascal," Tfed Carnevale describes some of the conventional approaches and 
problems he discovered while trying to move a graphics subroutine library 
in C to a Pascal environment. He also provides us with a program that makes 
the process less tedious. 

The theme of the March 1984 BYTE was simulation, an intriguing topic once 
relegated only to rooms full of computers. While microcomputers really can't 
compete with the fast, large-scale simulations that run on the CRAY-1 and other 
supercomputers, Don Stauffer uses a microcomputer to "Simulate a Servo 
System," using an electronic weighing scale as an example of servo-system 
simulation. 

Jeffrey L. Star also capitalizes on the power of the microcomputer in his 
article "Introduction to Image Processing." While commercial broadcast televi- 
sion limits gray-scale reproduction to about 12 levels and human vision covers 
a restricted spectrum, image-processing systems usually can deal with at least 
32 gray levels and over 16 million unique colors. And, interestingly, there are 
a couple of image-processing programs available for microcomputers. 

— Gene Smarte, Managing Editor 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 97 




THE HP INTEGRAL 
PERSONAL COMPUTER 



BY PHILLIP ROBINSON 



The Hewlett-Packard In- 
tegral Personal Computer 
is a complete transport- 
able computer system 
designed around UNIX (System III). 
(See photo 1.) With the UNIX kernel 
in ROM (read-only memory), an elec- 
troluminescent (EL) flat screen, 
a 31^-inch floppy-disk drive a built-in ink-jet printer, and 
Hewlett-Packard's Personal Applications Manager (PAM), 
the Integral is a marvel of advanced personal computing 
technology. 

History 

A big team worked on the Integral, which, during devel- 
opment, was known by the name "Pisces." Some of the 
team's members I met were Jon Brewster (user interface), 
Ray Fajardo (software), Tim Williams (section manager), 
Doug Collins (hardware manager), and Andy Rood (oper- 
ating system). 

While the hardware development of the Integral began 
in the fall of 1982, the software development had begun 
a year earlier. In fact, several projects were merged to 
come up with the Integral. The original design called for 
desktop functions in a transportable box: 80 characters 
by 2 5 lines on the display, a full-size printer (not ther- 
mal), and a real keyboard. When the project began, many 
of the elements that would meet those requirements 
didn't exist, To assure that those devices would be ready 
in time Hewlett-Packard (HP) had to get intimately in- 
volved in the particular technologies. For example, HP 
decided early on to use an EL screen and an ink-jet 
printer. At the time, EL technology was in its infancy and 
HP had to become a major factor in the EL marketplace. 



A new all-in-one 
system makes 

UNIX 
truly portable 



Brass Tacks 

The Integral's logic board is a generic 
68000 8-MHz system supplemented 
by a few special fillips: a memory 
mapper for UNIX and a proprietary 
graphics chip. The 68451 MMU (mem- 
ory-management unit) chip wasn't 



Editor's note: The following Is a BYTE 
product preview. It is not a review We 
provide an advance look at this new 
product because we feel it is signifi- 
cant . A complete review will follow in 
a subsequent issue 



used for memory mapping because 
it slows the memory cycle quite a 
bit— it would reside between the pro- 
cessor and RAM (random-access 
read/write memory). Instead, only the 
top address bits are mapped, and 
while that mapping is going on, the 
lower-half addressing of the RAM also 
is proceeding. This leaves the RAM's speed unaffected 
while still giving reasonable page sizes. 

The RAM comes as a standard 512K bytes (with 32 K 
more for the display) made up of 2 56K by 1 bit DRAMs 
(dynamic RAMs) with no parity chips. You can purchase 
2 56K and 512K RAM boards separately and insert them 
into the Integral's two internal slots. By using extender 
boxes (which plug into one of the slots, sit underneath 
the Integral, and provide five slots) you can have up to 
5.5 megabytes of RAM. When the 1 -megabyte RAM cards 
become available (soon after introduction) you'll be able 
to use the full logical RAM space of 7.5 megabytes. The 
Integral also has 2 56K bytes of ROM, which holds the 
operating system. I'll discuss the Integral's ROM a little 
more in the UNIX section that follows. 

The custom graphics processing unit (GPU) chip was 
designed and made by HP in Corvallis, Oregon. Accord- 
ing to Jon Brewster, a lot of effort went into the chip, 
which handles window scrolling, window moves, line 
drawing, and soft character fonts. The GPU is a big chip: 
it has a 16-bit ALU (arithmetic logic unit), a 16-bit data 
path, and a barrel shifter. 

The engineering and a nearly silent fan enable the 

Integral to work in some severe environments— up to 

40 degrees centigrade and 80 percent humidity. (The 

humidity limit is 95 percent without the disks, which 

are the most susceptible to moisture 

problems.) According to HP, some of 

the humidity testing involved just tak- 
ing the machine outside— remember, 

[continued) 

Phillip Robinson is a senior technical editor 
at BYTE. He may be contact at 1000 Elwell 
Court, Palo Alto, CA 94303. 



98 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



PHOTOGRAPHED BY PAUL AVIS 




FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 99 



Photo 2: 
HP's Personal Applications Manager (RAM) and Calculator. 






live lilji 
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this was all done in moist Oregon. 



No Featherweight 

HP says that the Integral is the only 

complete product around (i.e., with 

both a full screen and a printer) that 

you can really carry and that will fit 

under airline seats or in overhead 

racks. Regardless, this machine definitely remains in the 

transportable category. It is smaller than other transport- 

ables— such as the Kaypro— but still weighs 27 pounds. 

Reliability 

I asked what sort of reliability the Integral will have when 
it is actually carted around. "You'd be amazed," replied 
an HP spokesperson, who recited numerous tests with 
glee. For instance, in one test they dropped the system 
from a meter up: it sustained some cosmetic damage 
but still ran (although that isn't guaranteed). When some- 
thing did break during testing, HP made the necessary 
changes to the components or case. Further testing in- 
cluded vibrating the system, checking for condensation, 
and giving prototypes to marketing people. 

Another ramification of this reliability obsession is that 
HP won't soon introduce a hard-disk version of the In- 
tegral. Though HP engineers admittedly had considered 
the possibility it seems they don't trust the ruggedness 
of the hard disks they've seen. Beyond that, the design 
team believes that RAM disks and ROM-based operat- 
ing systems give hard-disk performance without the 
problems. 

Service 

Service for the Integral will be available through dealers 
or HP, with the standard 90-day warranty offered in the 
U.S. Because of different legal requirements, the warranty 
period will be one year in Europe. You will also be able 
to purchase extended service agreements. 

I/O Capabilities 

The Integral has only a single port on 
the back, an HPIB (Hewlett-Packard In- 



\n one test 

HP dropped the 

Integral from a meter 

up. It still ran. 



terface Bus) socket. If you need more 
I/O (input/output) capabilities you 
have to put I/O boards in the slots (for 
example, an RS-232C card, which 
should be immediately available). 

Another form of I/O is provided by 
the keyboard and mouse sockets. 
These sockets are called Human Inter- 
face Loop (HIL) ports and can handle other devices, such 
as graphics tablets. Hewlett-Packard has standardized the 
protocol for these ports throughout many of its wide 
range of products. 

Display 

The Integral's electroluminescent, flat-screen display is 
a centerpiece. Although the display isn't manufactured 
at HP, the HP engineers worked closely with the vendor 
to assure readability and reliability. In fact, each time I 
talked to an HP engineer I was assured that the "slight 
shadowing" on the prototype screen had been corrected. 
Unfortunately, I never saw the shadow. Maybe eyes 
trained on LCDs (liquid-crystal displays) aren't yet ready 
to analyze an EL flat-screen critically. The screen is also 
fast— with no phosphors to fade, it could be faster than 
a CRT (cathode-ray tube). The only color choice is amber. 

With 512 by 2 55 pixels in an area 8 inches wide and 
4 inches tall, the Integral screen is twice the size of the 
Grid Compass screen— the only other well-known exam- 
ple of an EL on a microcomputer. Because the screen 
is so thin, the Integral could probably be the shallowest 
system you have ever put on a desk. While transportables 
of the Osborne and Kaypro variety have to be unbut- 
toned and then tilted over, taking up much of the depth 
of a desk, the Integral retains its standing position, with 
only the keyboard folding down to occupy writing space. 

\n EL display is clearer than a CRT because there's 
no focus problem. As project manager Tim Williams 
noted dryly, "If a dot lights up, a dot lights up." 

The Integral has a variety of fonts and a font editor 
that lets you create your own. An antireflective coating 
and a circular polarizer for glare 
reduction combine to improve your 



100 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Photo 3: 

PAM, with HP's MemoMaker. 



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view of the already crisp images. 



Keyboard 

The Integral's low-profile keyboard 
(photo 4) is a compact adaptation of 
a new HP standard keyboard that will 
be used with portables, desktops, and 
terminals. The keyboard has com- 
pletely soft mapping because it will be used in a number 
of countries: the Corvallis division of HP gets half of its 
business from outside the United States, so German, 
French, Spanish, and British versions of the Integral also 
were set for introduction in January. Another effect of 
European sales is that the arrangement of the keyboard 
(and of other system elements such as the display and 
fonts) had to meet European ergonomic standards. 

The keyboard consists of a full-size QWERTY layout 
with sculpted keys surrounded by special function keys. 
My first impression is that the keyboard is not especial- 
ly quiet but is fast and easy to type with. The numeric 
keypad on the right side is closer to the alphabetic keys 
than on many other HP keyboards: the engineers had 
to squeeze it inward because of the requirements of por- 
tability The cursor keys are below the numeric keypad. 

Several of the numeric keys also have special functions, 
which are printed on the keys, such as Insert Line and 
Delete Character. The Integral also has: a Select key, used 
to shift the active window on the screen: Extend keys, 
which, in conjunction with the alphabetic keys, produce 
special characters; a Reset/Break key and a Stop key, 
placed in the extreme top left to prevent frustrating ac- 
cidents: and eight programmable function keys, part of 
the standard HP user interface. The bottom lines of the 
Integral's screen display the changing definitions of the 
function keys. 

Mass Storage 

The mass-storage capacity of the Integral consists of one 
HP-standard, 3 '/2-inch floppy-disk drive with hard-shell 
disks that hold 71 OK bytes each. One of my first reac- 
tions to the machine was, "Why is 
there only one floppy-disk drive?" 



The Integral PC's 

electroluminescent 

flat-screen display is 

its centerpiece. 



"One disk is cheaper than two," says 
HP's Andy Rood. "So the question is: 
'Why two?'" 

Normally manufacturers include two 
disk drives to provide enough total 
storage, separate storage devices 
for programs and data, and backup 
capability 

According to HP, the Integral's single floppy-disk drive, 
RAM, and ROM meet these needs: the very high den- 
sity of the floppy-disk drive provides enough total 
storage; the separation of programs and data is ac- 
complished partly by the ROM and partly by the RAM 
disk; and because the operating system is in ROM in- 
stead of on a disk and the RAM of the Integral auto- 
matically includes a RAM-disk function, you can put pro- 
grams on the RAM disk and data files on the floppy. As 
an added benefit, RAM-disk programs run faster than 
those on a floppy disk. Finally, the development team 
felt that the high-density floppy and the RAM disk made 
up a perfectly capable pair of devices for backing up 
files. For those reasons, and to save on space and power, 
the team decided to leave out a second disk drive. 

The use of ROM for the operating system was a big 
challenge: UNIX likes to have a disk drive at its disposal. 
The HP team had to "tune" their UNIX so that it didn't 
do that. The ROM solution provides that the root file 
is on the RAM disk, so when UNIX comes up, the only 
file system it presumes to exist is the RAM disk. 

You can have more mass storage (externally) if you 
want it. Through the Integral's I/O interface you can use 
any of HP's many storage peripherals. All of the software 
drivers— such as for a hard disk— are already built in. 

ThinkJet Printer 

One of the features that makes the Integral unusually 
"integrated" is the built-in ink-jet printer (see "The 
Hewlett-Packard ThinkJet Printer" by Mark Haas in the 
January BYTE, page 337). The ThinkJet is also a product 
of the Corvallis division of Hewlett-Packard and the 
Integral team was intimately asso- 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 101 



Photo 4: 

The Integral Personal Computer's keyboard. 




ciated with its development. 

As an ink-jet printer, the Thinkjet is 
quiet and fast. The characters it pro- 
duces are near letter quality. The 
Thinkjet can print in a number of dif- 
ferent fonts and can also handle 
black-and-white graphics. The In- 
tegral's keyboard has a Print key that 
immediately cues a dump of the screen's contents to the 
Thinkjet. 

One small drawback of the printer's placement is that 
there is no good place to put the paper— that is, if you 
put the pile of blank paper just behind the computer, 
the system takes up a lot more room. 

The Thinkjet is generally simple to load and use but 
doesn't have a platen knob. Therefore, you have to be 
careful not to overrun when using the line-feed and form- 
feed buttons. 

Mouse 

The Integral's optional mouse is HP's standard two- 
button, mechanical contraption that uses a steel ball 
beneath a circular palm grip. The plug-in position (on 
the left side of the unit) is slightly awkward for a right- 
handed user because the cable must run behind the 
keyboard. The mouse's left button is called the "click- 
ing" button (for selection) and the right is called the 
"right" button (for mode changing). 

Software 

The Integral runs HP-UX 2.1, which HP calls a "vanilla" 
UNIX environment, and the Personal Applications Man- 
ager (photos 2 and 3), HP's operating-environment shell 
(see "The HP 1 50" by Phil Lemmons and Barbara Robert- 
son in the October 1983 BYTE, page 36, and "The HP 
1 10" in the June 1984 BYTE, page 111). The Integral's win- 
dows emulate terminals that report back at 9600 bits per 
second, have 80 characters by 24 lines, and use normal 
escape sequences. As Tim Williams puts it, "We think 
the UNIX wave is just beginning. And as the UNIX wave 
rolls along we want to roll with it and 
help it to grow." Ray Fajardo noted 



Although the Integral 

is compatible with 

UNIX System III, it 

emulates other versions, 



that a lot of development time was 
devoted to making the Integral run 
most UNIX software without modi- 
fication. The primary goal was System 
III compatibility: a secondary goal was 
flexibility. The system can dynamical- 
ly configure drivers and make oper- 
ating-system patches on the fly, so the 
environment is standard yet can be specialized by in- 
dependent software vendors. According to HP, HP-UX's 
flexibility enables it to emulate Venix, System V, and 
other UNIX derivatives. Over 50 utilities, commands, and 
standard applications are included with the system. 

How hard was it to put UNIX in ROM? "We first did 
it the same way we do a disk operating system," says 
Andy Rood. "We just took what would have been our 
200K boot image, put it in ROM, and put a little power- 
on preamble that copied it to RAM just as a bootstrap 
up for disk." They then embellished the first version by 
making the code execute directly from the ROM and 
made some flexibility modifications by linking ROM 
through RAM jump tables. Any bugs that turn up in the 
ROM now can be masked by intercepting and isolating 
ROM routines. The kernel is in the ROM and is treated 
as another disk device. At the time the machine is 
started, the ROM disk— which has both the RAM shell and 
the traditional UNIX init process— is configured. The ROM 
looks like shared memory for user libraries and pro- 
grams. There also is a demon in the background to do 
the disk handling. The HP-UX system is supported by 
real-time extensions (BCD [binary coded decimal), HPIL 
| Hewlett-Packard Interface Loop|, HPIB, RS-232C, and in- 
strumentation I/O) and device-independent libraries, as 
well as HP Technical BASIC 

User Interface 

The Integral's user interface (windows, graphics, function 
keys, and optional mouse) were Jon Brewster's respon- 
sibility. He explained that the original reason for windows 
was to provide users with more than one interface to 
the product. HP had discovered that 
even novice users use multitasking 



102 BYTE • FEBRUARY ]985 



Photo 5: 

The Integral PC with keyboard in place. 




and keep multiple programs on the 
display. The windowing system, then, 
had to allow novices to do multitask- 
ing without worrying about fore- 
ground, background, priorities, and 
scheduling. Because the mouse was 
to be (and is) optional, the windows 
had to work well with and without it. 
Also, unlike the Macintosh, the Integral allows you to 
move windows while they are being updated: windows 
are moved by animating a sprite (which resembles a cor- 
ner of the window) and positioning it— rather than mov- 
ing the entire window. Thus, you can hide windows (they 
appear as title lines in the lower left of the display), 
stretch them (by choosing a new bottom right corner with 
a sprite), move them (by choosing a new top left corner 
with a sprite), and shuffle them (the top window being 
the only one with which you can interface directly, 
although the others can still be active). 

Applications 

According to HP, a variety of software packages will be 
available within 60 days of the Integral's introduction. 
These include Microsoft's Multiplan, Officeware's Script 
and Plan, Ashton-T^te's dBASE III, HP's MemoMaker, Data 
and Calculator, HP-UX software development tools, and 
others. 

More software is being developed both at HP's per- 
sonal software division and by independent vendors who 
have already been alerted to the Integral's introduction. 
Also, because of the compatibility of HP Technical BASIC 
many programs for other HP systems, such as Series 200 
and 500 products, will immediately run on the Integral. 

Documentation 

Although the documentation I viewed was only in the 
draft stage HP has given plenty of attention to the litera- 
ture explaining its system. The documentation is clear 
and thorough. Beginners will spend the most time with 
the Personal Tutor disk and booklet, a tutorial that takes 
an estimated eight hours to fully ab- 
sorb. Lessons include use of the 



The Integral's user 

interface lets you 

move, hide, stretch, 

and shuffle windows. 



mouse, windows, and the organiza- 
tion, viewing, printing, and creating of 
files. The Integral's documentation 
also includes a cartoon booklet that 
explains how to set up and start up 
the system, and a reference guide. H D 
claims that the documentation, user 
interface, and RAM will have novices 
working on the system within 30 minutes. 



Price and Conclusions 

The Integral Personal Computer is priced at $4990 (with 
HP-UX, RAM, and HP Windows). Although the price is 
high for a single-disk-drive system, the perceived price/ 
value ratio depends on what class of computer you com- 
pare the Integral to. HP would like it to be compared 
to the higher-performance (and higher-priced) UNIX 
machines, rather than MS-DOS transportables such as 
the Compaq. 

The big question is, who will buy the Integral? Perhaps 
business and technical professionals whose require- 
ments push the limitations of today's 16-bit MS-DOS 
machines. Certainly computer science students and engi- 
neers will see many advantages to a complete UNIX 
system they can take home. And with the benefits of 
multitasking, HP may pull in more people: imagine hav- 
ing several data-communications cards, each hooked to 
a different electronic information service, and all com- 
municating while you work on a spreadsheet and a word 
processor. 

The HP Integral Personal Computer's advantages in- 
clude: state-of-the-art technology; the "everything you 
need in one box" design; engineering that looks ab- 
solutely solid, and a multitasking environment— all from 
a company with a great engineering track record. On the 
minus side: the list of software available for the Integral 
PC is short, and the price may be too high. But for those 
who need advanced computing power and who want to 
cast their votes against the IBM PC and its various com- 
patibles, the HP Integral Personal Computer may be the 
best argument yet for biting the bullet 
and switching to UNIX. ■ 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 103 




104 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



PHOTOGRAPHED BY PAUL AVIS. 



CIARCIAS CIRCUIT CELLAR 

BUILD A 
SERIAL EPROM 
PROGRAMMER 

by Steve Ciarcia 



An inexpensive way to put 
your programs on a chip 




Over the years, many ar- 
ticles have been pub- 
lished on programming 
EPROMs (erasable pro- 
grammable read-only 
memories). The number 
of articles alone indicates 
the value of an EPROM programmer and 
the interest expressed in the subject. TVue- 
blooded computer experimenters consider 
an EPROM programmer as essential a tool 
as a soldering iron and a DVM (digital 
voltmeter). 

Most EPROM programmers designed for 
personal computers are implemented as 
bus-dependent I/O (input/output) peripheral 
cards that use computer-specific, machine- 
language driver programs. By eliminating 
the need for an enclosure and using the 
system power supply, a relatively cost- 
effective unit can be produced. Unfor- 
tunately, if I designed such a unit, it prob- 
ably wouldn't be for the computer you own. 
For computer users who don't have ex- 
pansion buses or who want their EPROM 
programmer to be transportable between 
systems, the only alternative is a stand- 
alone EPROM programmer attached to a 
serial port (much like a modem). Making it 
a separate peripheral device, however, 
necessarily increases its cost. In fact, exter- 
nal serial-port EPROM programmers are fre- 
quently two or three times the cost of 



board-level units. 

A certain portion of the cost is due to its 
separate power supply and enclosure, but 
most of the expense is attributed to the 
features that manufacturers generally incor- 
porate in the devices. The majority of stand- 
alone serial-connected programmers are, in 
fact, designed as intelligent EPROM pro- 
grammers that have the basic processing 
power and memory of whole computers. I 
have taken this approach on previous 
designs. Such devices perform well and re- 
quire little assistance from the host system 
beyond the data to be programmed. 

This time I'm approaching the problem 
differently. I've decided to keep it simple 
and design the most universally applicable 
and cost-effective programmer that I can. 

The latest Circuit Cellar EPROM program- 
mer is a serial-port programmer that has the 
speed of a turtle, the intelligence of the 
mightiest computer (that is, it has absolutely 
no smarts of its own), and is as functional 
as a doorstop between uses. On the posi- 
tive side, it's fully documented, universally 
applicable, and easily expandable to ac- 

[continued) 

Steve Ciarcia (pronounced "see-ARE-see-ah") is an elec- 
tronics engineer and computer consultant with experience 
in process control digital design, nuclear instrumenta- 
tion, and product development. He is the author of 
several books about electronics. You can write to him 
at POB 582. Glastonbury. CT 06033. 



COPYRIGHT © 1985 STEVEN A. CIARCIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 105 



commodate future EPROM types. 

The serial-port programmer can be 
operated from almost any system with 
a serial port. The driver software is 
written completely in BASIC with no 
machine-language routines. The 
serial-port programmer offers all the 
hardware features to program 2716, 
2732, 2732A, 2764, and 27128 
EPROMS through a serial port, in- 
cluding: RS-232C compatibility no 
handshaking necessary, internal 
power supplies, jumper-selectable 
EPROM types, and jumper-selectable 
data rates. 

The BASIC-language driver program 
included offers features such as: 

• menu-driven operation using single 
keystrokes 

• a help routine that can be called at 
any time 

• single-byte or burst-write modes 

• read or copy EPROM 

• optional programming from a disk 
file 

• verify after write 

• verify EPROM erasure 

• screen-dump routines by page or 
byte 

• single-stepping mode 

• software-controlled read/write 
mode select 

• BASIC driver that can be user- 
modified 

Reviewing EPROM Basics 

A personal computer, even in its 
minimum configuration, always con- 
tains some user-programmable mem- 



ory or RAM (random-access read/ 
write memory), usually in the form of 
semiconductor-memory integrated 
circuits. This memory can contain 
both programs and data and can be 
read or modified as needed. 

Any of several kinds of electronic 
components can function as bit- 
storage elements in this kind of mem- 
ory. TTL (transistor-transistor logic) 
type-7474 flip-flops, bistable relays, or 
tiny ferrite toroids (memory cores) are 
suitable, but they all cost too much, 
are hard to use, and have other dis- 
advantages. 

In personal computer and other 
microprocessor-based applications, 
the most cost-effective memory is 
made from MOS (metal-oxide semi- 
conductor) ICs (integrated circuits). 
Unfortunately, data stored in these 
semiconductor RAMs is volatile. 
When the power is turned off, the 
data is lost. Many ways of dealing with 
this problem have been devised, with 
essential programs and data usually 
stored in some nonvolatile medium. 

In most computer systems, some 
data or programs are stored in non- 
volatile ROM (read-only memory). A 
semiconductor ROM can be random- 
ly accessed for reading in the same 
manner as the volatile memory, but 
the data in the ROM is permanent. In 
a mask-programmed ROM. the data 
that can be read is determined dur- 
ing the manufacturing process. When- 
ever power is supplied to the ROM, 
this permanent data (or program) is 
available. In small computer systems. 















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Figure I: Pinouts of the 2716 and 2764 EPROMs. 



ROM is chiefly used to contain 
operating systems and/or BASIC 
interpreters— programs that don't 
need to be changed. 

Another type of ROM is the PROM 
(programmable read-only memory). A 
PROM component is delivered con- 
taining no data. The user decides 
what data it should contain and per- 
manently programs it with a special 
programming device. Once initially 
programmed, PROMs exhibit the 
characteristics of mask-programmed 
ROMs. You might label such PROMs 
as write-once memories. 

The EPROM, which is ultraviolet- 
light-erasable, is a compromise be- 
tween the write-once kind of PROM 
and the volatile memory. You can 
think of the EPROM as a read-mostly 
memory, used in read-only mode 
most of the time but occasionally 
erased and reprogrammed as neces- 
sary. The EPROM is erased by expos- 
ing the silicon chip to ultraviolet light 
at a wavelength of 2 537 angstroms. 
Conveniently, most EPROM chips are 
packaged in an enclosure with a trans- 
parent quartz window. 

How an EPROM Works 

EPROMs store data bits in cells 
formed from stored-charge FAMOS 
(floating-gate avalanche-injection 
metal-oxide semiconductor) tran- 
sistors. Such transistors are similar to 
positive-channel silicon-gate field- 
effect transistors, but they have two 
gates. The lower or floating gate is com- 
pletely surrounded by an insulator 
layer of silicon dioxide; the upper con- 
trol or select gate is connected to ex- 
ternal circuitry 

The amount of electric charge 
stored on the floating gate determines 
whether the bit cell contains a 1 or a 
0. Charged cells are read as 0s; un- 
charged cells are read as Is. When the 
EPROM chip comes from the factory, 
all bit locations are cleared of charge 
and are read as logic Is; each byte 
contains hexadecimal FF. 

When a given bit cell is to be 
burned from a 1 to a 0, a current is 
passed through the transistor's chan- 
nel from the source to the gate. (The 
electrons, of course, move the op- 
posite way.) At the same time, a 
relatively high voltage potential is 
placed on the transistor's upper select 
gate, creating a strong electric field 
within the layers of semiconductor 

[continued) 



106 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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> 


RD4 


NSB 




w 


RD3 


POE 






RD2 
RD1 



TD8 
T07 
TD6 
T05 
TD4 
T03 
TD2 
T01 




i t>M>^' 



IC10 PIN 4 {OPTIONAL CLEAR TO SEND) 



material. (This is the function of the 
+ 21- or + 2 5-volt [V] V pp charging 
potential applied to the EPROM.) In 
the presence of this strong electric 
field, some of the electrons passing 
through the source-drain channel gain 
enough energy to tunnel through the 
insulating layer that normally isolates 
the floating gate. As the tunneling 
electrons accumulate on the floating 
gate, the gate takes on a negative 
charge, which makes the cell contain 
aO. 

When data is to be erased from the 
chip, it is exposed to ultraviolet light, 
which contains photons of relatively 
high energy. The incident photons ex- 



cite the electrons on the floating gate 
to sufficiently high energy states that 
they can tunnel back through the in- 
sulating layer, removing the charge 
from the gate and returning the cell 
to the 1 state. 

The 2700 family of EPROMs con- 
tains bit-storage cells configured as in- 
dividually addressable bytes. This 
organization is often called "2K by 8" 
for a 2716 or "8K by 8" for a 2764. 
Figure 1 shows the 2716 and 2764. 
The completely static operation of 
these devices requires no clock 
signals. The primary operating modes 
include read, standby, and program 
(program-inhibit and program-verify 



Tkble 1 : Power supply and ground 


pin numbers for figures 2 and 3. 






IC Number 


Type 


Ground 


5 V 


12 V 


-12 V 




IC1 


AY3-1015 


pin 3 


pin 1 








IC2 


74LS175 


pin 8 


pin 16 










IC3.4.5 


74LS374 


pin 10 


pin 20 










IC6 


74LS00 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC7 


74LS14 


pin 7 


pin 14 










!C8 


NE555 


pin 1 


pin 8 










IC9 


74LS02 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC10 


MC1488 


pin 7 




pin 14 


pin 1 






IC11 


MC1489 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC12 


74LS04 


pin 7 


pin 14 










IC13 


CD74HC4040 


pin 8 


pin 16 





















4.9152MHz 



1.8K 
-WV- 



-D>* 



1.8K 
VsA. 

IC12 
74LS04 



RS-232C CONNECTOR 

icii rt 7 

MC1489 



|33K 



Q> 



i> 



IC1-20 



IC10 
MC1488 






IC13 

CD74HC4040 



IC1-25 



"iTTiri'i 



9^9999 






IC8-3 
(OPTIONAL) 



J s. CLOCK 

"1 * IC1-17, 40 



DATA -RATE GENERATOR 



Figure 3: Serial interface and data-rate generator. 



modes are important primarily in 
high-volume applications). 

Control inputs are used to select the 
chip and configure it for one of these 
operating modes. In the program 
mode, particular bit cells are induced 
to contain values. Both Is and 0s are 
present in the data word presented 
on the data lines, but only the 
presence of a causes action to take 
place. To program the 2716 EPROM, 
the V pp input is made +2 5 V and the 
OE input is at a high TTL level. Then, 
the TTLrlevel data to be programmed 
for a specific address is set up on the 
2716's data lines, and the address is 
set up on address lines A0 through 
A 10. After a setup time of at least 2 
microseconds (fis), a high TTLrlevel 
programming pulse 50 milliseconds 
(ms) long is applied to the CE/PGM in- 
put. Addresses to be programmed 
may be specified in any order. 

The 50-ms programming pulse must 
be applied once for each location to 
be programmed (under no circum- 
stances should a_constant high level 
be applied to the CE/PGM input in the 
program mode). Repeated 50-ms 
pulses to the same location are ac- 
ceptable, but any pulse width greater 
than 55 ms might destroy the chip. 
The minimum pulse width is 45 ms. 

Circuit Description 

Figures 2, 3, and 4 show the sche- 
matic drawings for the serial-port 
EPROM programmer, the RS-232C in- 
terface and the four-voltage power 
supply T&ble 1 shows the power- 
supply connections for the sche- 
matics. The main element in figure 2 
is the AY-3-101 5 UART (universal asyn- 
chronous receiver/transmitter). The 
UART converts serial information sent 
from the computer into parallel infor- 
mation used in the programmer. This 
parallel data appears on pins 5 
through 12 of the UART receiver bus. 
The UART can also pass information 
back to the computer by converting 
any parallel information present on 
pins 26 through 33 of the transmitter 
bus into serial information. The serial 
information is received from the com- 
puter on pin 20 and transmitted to the 
computer on pin 2 5. 

A logic high level on pin 21 resets 
and initializes the UART This level is 
generated as a power-on reset (PWR) 
every time the power to the program- 
mer is turned on or the manual reset 
button pressed. This PWR also clears 



108 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



the receiver character counter, IC2. 

UART pins 3 5 through 39 set the 
format of the serial transmission be- 
tween the computer and the program- 
mer. (I chose to hard-wire these op- 
tions rather than provide option 
switches that are rarely used.) As 
shown, the UART is configured for an 
8-bit character length with 1 stop bit 
and parity checking inhibited. If your 
computer requires 2 stop bits, con- 
nect pin 36 to + 5 V instead of ground. 
The programmer will operate at any 
desired data rate up to and including 
9600 bits per second (bps). A soft- 
ware delay loop keeps the program- 
mer from being swamped. 

The programmer requires 4 bytes to 
be sent from the computer for each 
location read from or written to in the 
EPROM. This 4-byte protocol elimi- 
nates the need for incremental 
counters and sophisticated decision 
logic in the programmer. It does, 
however, reduce the speed of read 
and erasure-verification operations. 

The first 3 bytes received are 
latched a byte at a time into latches 
IC3, IC4, and IC5. The latching pulses 
are generated by IC2, which is con- 
figured as a 4-bit byte counter. Each 
time a byte is received by the UART, 
an RDA (received data available) pulse 
is generated at pin 19 of the UART 
This pulse is used to clock IC2 and is 
gated back to the RDAV (reset data 
available) line, pin 18, to clear the 
receiver section of the UART As the 
counter clocks, the leading edges of 
its output latch the data from the 
UART into IC3, IC4, or IC5. The 
counter is reset by the PWR line or 
when the fourth byte is received. 

The first byte received by the pro- 
grammer contains the most significant 
3 to 6 bits of the EPROM address 
(depending upon the EPROM type) 
and 1 bit to select either the read or 
write mode of operation. A logic 1 in 
bit 7 sets the write mode; a logic 
sets the read mode 

The second byte contains the lower 
8 bits of the EPROM address. 

The third byte contains the data to 
be programmed into the addressed 
location when it is in the write mode 
or a dummy character when in the 
read mode. 

The fourth byte contains dummy 
data in both the read and write 
modes. When the counter increments 
with the reception of the fourth byte, 
it causes IC2 to reset. The time be- 



tween setting this output bit and 
clearing the counter is about 100 
nanoseconds (ns). This short pulse 
concluding the setup of the address 
and data is used to trigger the actual 
programming pulse to the EPROM. 

The programming pulse to the 
EPROM is generated by IC8, which is 
configured as a 50-ms one-shot (trig- 
gered by the reception of the fourth 
byte). The programming pulse is fed 
to the EPROM at several different 
locations, depending on which 
EPROM is being programmed and 
how the EPROM selection jumper 
block (see figure 5) is configured. 

The one-shot is functional only 
when the mode select line (R/W, 
read/not write) IC3 pin 2 is a logic 0, 
setting the write mode. The mode 
select line is also used to select the 
programming voltage ranges of the 
various EPROMs. When configured 
for a 2732 or a 2716 EPROM, a low 
on the mode select line sets the V pp 
supply to a 25-V level. For all other 
EPROM types, the V pp supply is set to 
a 21-V level. 

Depending on the configuration of 
the jumper block, the mode select 
line sets the proper TTL levels at the 
CE and OE pins to place the various 
EPROMs in the read or write mode. 
A logic high on the mode select line 
causes the V pp supply to drop to V 
for the 2732 and 2732A EPROMs and 
to 5 V for the other types. 

The mode select line also functions 
as the output enable line of data latch 



IC5. When the programmer is in the 
write mode, data from the UART is 
latched and directed to the EPROM 
data bus for programming. When the 
programmer is in the read mode, IC5's 
output is disabled, and the EPROM 
data-bus contents are transmitted 
back to the computer. 

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) 1, 2, 
and 3 indicate when power is on and 
when read and write pulses occur. 
They are not necessary to the opera- 
tion of the programmer and are mere- 
ly included as visual aids. 

Figure 3 shows the serial-interface 
connections and the data-rate 
generator. IC10 and IC1 1 are standard 
RS-232C transmitter and receiver 
chips that conform to the EIA (Elec- 
tronic Industries Association) stan- 
dard for RS-232C transmission. (If 
your computer needs a handshaking 
signal, the 50-ms write pulse can be 
connected to the clear-to-send line. It 
is not used with the software pre- 
sented in this article.) The serial-com- 
munication rate between the pro- 
grammer and the computer is jumper- 
selectable. A 4.9152-MHz oscillator 
is divided down through a 
CD74HC4040 (it must include the HC 
designation to accommodate the high 
frequency) to produce the appropri- 
ate clock rate for the UART. 

Figure 4 shows the power supply 
used with the programmer. The power 
transformer I chose was 22 V CT 
(center tap), but any transformer from 

{continued) 



+ 12V 




T * 

Dl _i2V 

IN4742 C1 

as 4, 



/77 



Figure 4: Power supply. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 109 



22 to 25.6V CT is adequate. The 
secondary output of the transformer 
is full-wave rectified, filtered, and then 
regulated to + 1 2 V + 5 V. and - 1 2 V. 
Only the + 5 -V supply needs an actual 
IC regulator; less stringent zener 
regulation is adequate for the 12-V 



supplies to the RS-232C drivers. 

The 35-V output consists of com- 
ponents C4. C5. D3, and D4 con- 
nected as a cascade voltage doubler 
with half-wave rectification. This con- 
figuration produces an input of ap- 
proximately 32 to 34 V to the LM3 17/ 







2716 


Jl - 


i 




J2 1 


! 


i 


J3 ■ 






J4 < 


1 




J5 ' 






J6 i 


> 




J8 ' 


I 




J9 i 


i 




Jll ( 


i j 







1 

2" 



6<> 



9<> 



12 <> 



4<> 



7<> 



*<t 



12<i 



24 



20 



15 



13 







2764 








( 


i 




I 


3 i 








4 i 

< 


i 




i 


i 


i 




i 


! 


i 




i 


1 


i 




i 


1 


i 




i 


12 i 


i 




i 



16 



2732 A 



2732 



'19 



24 
23 



1 
2 * 



6'" 



8 i> 
9^ 



<>13 



12 i> 



24 
22 



19 



13 



27128 



24 



18 



16 



Figure 5: Configuration jumpers. 



338 regulator. The minimum accept- 
able voltage at the input is 28.5 V (for 
a 2 5-V output). If you use a higher- 
output transformer than 22 V CT, be 
careful that the input to the V pp 
regulator doesn't exceed 3 5 V. If it 
does, additional preregulation may be 
necessary to use this circuit. 

Figure 6 shows the programmable 
V pp supply. The 2 73 2 A EPROM re- 
quires the programming voltage to be 
pulsed between and 2 1 V, while a 
2716 requires a pulse between 5 and 
2 5 V. The supply is controlled by the 
jumper connections and the mode 
select line. With jumper #1 across R6, 
the supply is configured for a max- 
imum V pp level of 21V. When it is 
removed, the supply has a maximum 
voltage of 2 5 V 

The minimum \I PP level is set by two 
jumper-selectable programming cir- 
cuits, which are also connected to the 
regulator's output set point-adjust 
line. When jumper #2 is installed, a 
two-transistor circuit is enabled, which 
applies - 1.2 V to the adjust line. The 
result is a 0-V output from the 
regulator. When jumper #3 is in- 
stalled, the reference-adjust line is set 
to allow a + 5-V regulator output. 

Interacting with Hardware 

The operation of the serial program- 
mer should become clear by follow- 
ing an example of a write operation 
followed by a read operation. This is 
the sequence that would necessarily 
occur during a standard write-and- 
verify cycle. 

First, the EPROM programmer is 
cleared and set to the read mode by 
the power-on reset pulse (which can 
be generated by pressing a button or 
by turning the programmer on) so 
that it is ready to receive the first 
character. If we plan a write cycle, the 
first character must contain a logic 1 
in bit 8 to activate the write mode. The 
upper 3 to 6 bits of the EPROM ad- 
dress (the page address that depends 
on the size of the EPROM) must also 
appear in the first 3 to 6 bits (bit 
through bit 5) of this first character. 
Each character of data to be pro- 
grammed into the EPROM is sent to 
the programmer as a 4-byte transmis- 
sion with the programming address 
specified each time. 

T&ble 2 indicates the allowable bit 
patterns for this first character re- 
ceived by the programmer. 

For our example, assume that the 



110 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



data byte C3 (hexadecimal) is to be 
written into the first byte of page 4 in 
the EPROM. In this case the first 
character received by the program- 
mer should be 1x000100. The receipt 
of this character pulses IC2 and 
latches the page address and mode 
select bit into the page/mode latch, 
IC3. The mode select bit selects the 
EPROM for a write cycle, turns on the 



V pp supply to the EPROM, releases 
the reset line on the timer activates 
the output enable line of the data 
latch, and shuts off the transmission 
gate of the UART. 

The second character sent contains 
the lower 8 address bits for the 
EPROM. To program the first location 
in page 4, the rest of the address must 
then be 00000000. This character sets 



Tcible 2: Allowable bit patterns. 




Page 


Write Mode 


Read Mode 







1x000000 


0x000000 




1 


1x000001 


0x000001 






2 


1x000010 


0x000010 






3 


1x000011 


0x000011 






4 


1x000100 


0x000100 






5 


1x000101 


0x000101 






6 


1x000110 


0x000110 






7 


1x000111 


0x0001 1 1 






64 


1x111111 


0x111111 













the second stage of the counter and 
latches the lower address location 
into the lower address latch, IC4. 

The third character, 11000011 (C3 
hexadecimal), contains data to be pro- 
grammed into the EPROM. When this 
character is received, the counter 
latches the data into the data latch, 
IC5. 

The fourth character sent is a 
dummy character that may contain 
any value. This fourth and last char- 
acter simply clocks IC2 and triggers 
the 50-ms programming pulse. When 
the one-shot times out, the program- 
mer is still in the write mode. It has 
to be set to the read mode by ini- 
tiating a read cycle 

The four characters sent in our pres- 
ent example of a write sequence are 
1x000100, which sets the write mode 
and upper address; 00000000, which 
sets the lower address; II 0000 11, 
which sets the data byte (C3 hexadec- 
imal); and xxxxxxxx, dummy data. 

The read sequence is similar to the 
write sequence. The first character 

{continued) 



32-35 VOLTS ' ^ 



LM317/LM338 

IN OUT 

ADJ 



VK/ 2N22 



IK 



4.7 K 



m 



470 a 
-WV, 



IN4732 
4.7V 



-12V 



03 



O^ 



470JI 



2905 

7h 



R7 
510& 



-LZ>v P p 



R4 
150X1 



R5 
2.4K 



R5 + R6 SETS 25V 
R5 SETS 21V 



N 1 

\ 
\ 
R6 ) jj (INSTALLED FOR 

470& / A DEVICES) 

/ 



m 



470X1 




Q2 
2N2222 



(2732) JM JJ3 (2716,2764.27128) 
7z2 



R/W | >~ 



?23 |Z2 



25V 

5V 

25V 

ov 

21V 
0V 



2716 



2732 



2732A 



Vcc 





READ 
WRITE 



21V 



5V 



2764 
27128 



Figure 6: Close-up of the programmable V pp supply. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 111 



sent again contains the upper bits of 
the address, but bit 8 is now set to 
logic to put the mode select line 
high (read mode). A logic 1 on the 
read/write line deactivates the pro- 
gramming one-shot and tristates the 
data latch, IC5. 

Again, the first character is latched 
into the page/mode latch, and the sec- 
ond character is latched into the lower 
address latch. With IC5 tristated, the 
EPROM's data output is placed on the 
UART transmitter bus. The third char- 
acter is a dummy character that is 
used to clock IC2. This signal causes 
the UART to transmit the data on the 
transmitter bus to the computer. The 



fourth character is then sent to the 
programmer to reset the counter. 

The four characters that must be 
sent in the verify sequence of our ex- 
ample are 0x000100, which sets the 
read mode and upper page address; 
00000000. which sets the lower 
address; xxxxxxxx, which gets the 
data byte from the EPROM (C3 hexa- 
decimal); and xxxxxxxx, which resets 
the programmer. 

Programmer Software 

The driver program shown in listing 
1 could have been written in any lan- 
guage that supports input and output 
ports. \This program is available for down- 



loading from BYTEnet Listings at (603) 
924-9820. You can also receive it by send- 
ing an IBM PC-formatted disk and return 
postage to Steve Qiarcia] BASIC was 
chosen because it has wide appeal in 
the persona] computer field and 
because most systems with serial I/O 
ports support BASIC The software 
(flow-diagramed in figure 7) was writ- 
ten specifically for the IBM PC but can 
be easily modified to conform to most 
other systems that also support 
Microsoft BASIC The program was 
written with a short MAIN program 
module that calls a number of subrou- 
tine modules. This modular approach 
makes modifying, debugging, or ex- 

























YES 












f BEGIN A 
I EPROM J 


















INITIALIZE 
VARIABLES 










GET INPUT 
BYTE 














SELECT DATA 
RATE 






























\ VP J^ 


VERIFY 
EPROM 
ERASED 












SELECT 

EPROM 

SIZE 






YES 


J 




























Tno 




















DISPLAY 

PREVIOUS 

BYTE 










SELECT 

EPROM 

ERASED OR 

EPROM 

PARTIALLY 

PROGRAMMED 


*v pp / 


i 








YES 


J 








J NO 












DISPLAY 

NEXT 
BYTE 










f 






JL 




X yS 


YES 


^ 






READ EPROM 

INTO 

ARRAY 


NO^X'EPROM^X^ YES 


SET ARRAY 
TO ALL 
FF (HEX) 


| NO 








* <v ERASED ? 










x/ 








BURN EPROM 
AND EXIT 
















YES 








DIM ARRAY 

AND 

OPEN "C0M1" 

PORT 




NO 
















( END J 




























INITIALIZE 
BASE ADDRESS 
OF EPROM 








SET NEW 

OFFSET 

LOCATION 


f 










| NO 


YES 


J 
























DISPLAY 
PRESENT 
ADDRESS AND 
BYTE IN 
ARRAY 














( 


o ■ 




\ W ^ J? 


WRITE TO 
ARRAY AND 
RETURN 


i 


v 


/ 










v_^ 














J 




NO 












G 


; 








( 2 








G 


) 



Figure 7: A flowchart of the driver program. 



112 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



panding the software a much easier 
task. Examining the driver software 
should provide enough understand- 
ing so that any additions or changes 
desired can be easily implemented. 

The program modules that access 
the serial port are labeled READ A 
BYTE and WRITE A BYTE in listing 1. 
These sections contain the only soft- 
ware modules that are hardware-de- 
pendent and that need to be con- 
figured to your particular system. 

The WRITE module performs the 
actual program burn of the data into 
the EPROM. The first statement sends 
the page address to the serial port 
with the value of bit 8 set to 1. This 



is accomplished by combining the 
page address with the value 128 
(10000000 binary). The page address 
is calculated elsewhere in the pro- 
gram before entering this module. 
The next statement sends the lower 
address contained in the variable 
BYTE to the serial port. This value is 
also calculated by the program prior 
to entering the WRITE module. 

The statement 'PRINT #3,DATUM" 
sends the data to be written into the 
EPROM to the serial port. The last 
statement in the WRITE module is a 
timing loop that causes the program 
to pause while the 50-ms timer in the 
serial-port programmer times out. 







YES 



BURN EPROM 

AND 

RETURN 



DP 



YES 



DISPLAY ONE 
PAGE OF 
EPROM 



NO 



NO 



NO 



YES 



INITIALIZE 
BASE ADDRESS 
OF EPROM 



YES 



LOAD ARRAY 
FROM DISK 



S? 



YES 



SAVE ARRAY 
TO DISK 



NO 



NO 



YES 



DISPLAY 

HELP 

MENU 



YES 




The READ module requests a data 
byte from the programmer and 
receives the byte from the serial port. 
It accomplishes this by sending a 
page address and byte address to the 
serial port as in the WRITE module. 
In this case bit 8 of the page address 
is set to to inform the programmer 
that a read cycle is being performed. 
The next two lines send a dummy 
data value and a strobe to the serial 
port to complete the read sequence. 
The values of DUMMY and STROBE 
are set in the INITIALIZATION 
module. The data sent by the serial- 
port programmer is received in the 
variable RDATA. 

Once these modules have been 
configured to your system, it is a sim- 
ple matter to write and read data from 
the programmer. Simply define the 
PAGE and BYTE address variables 
along with the DATUM value and send 
them to your serial port by calling the 
appropriate module The rest of the 
program in listing 1 shows methods 
for doing this. 

The approach used in the program 
is to place any data to be pro- 
grammed into the EPROM in an array 
so that it can be reviewed and edited 
prior to burning it permanently into 
the EPROM. The array name is appro- 
priately called ARRAY( ). The high- 
order byte of every element in AR- 
RAY() stores a flag bit indicating that 
the lower-order byte of the element 
is data to be programmed. This 
method allows the program to write 
to only those locations in the EPROM 
where a valid data value has been 
entered in ARRAYQ. 

Each time a data value is put into 
ARRAYQ, the value is combined with 
2 56 to set the flag. When it is time to 
send all the data to the EPROM, the 
flag is checked in each element, and 
only those elements with the flag bit 
set are sent to the EPROM. This pro- 
cess is repeated until all the flagged 
elements have been programmed. 
The initial values for ARRAY() are 
taken directly from the EPROM by 
reading each location and storing the 
values in ARRAY(). 

Several methods of entering data 
into ARRAYQ are used in the program. 
One method is to enter each data 
value directly from the keyboard; an- 
other method is to fill ARRAYQ by 
reading an already-programmed 
EPROM. Finally a disk file previously 

[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 113 



Listing I: EPROM programmer routines. 



1000 rem ===================================== 

1010 rem serial eprom programmer 

1020 REM written in 

1030 REM MICROSOFT BASIC for the IBM PC 

1060 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

1070 REM INITIALIZATION ROUTINE 

1090 KEY OFF 

1100 LINE25$ = "BAUD RATE=\ \EPROM=\ \BASEPAGE=\ \" 

1110 BR$ = "0000":EP$=BR$:BP$ = BR$ 

1120 DEFINT A-Z:ON ERROR GOTO 4600 

1 1 30 STROBE = 255:DUMMY = 255:PAGE = 0:BYTE = 0:DATUM = 255 

1140 K$ = "VPNEOWHDIBSL":FORMAT$="PAGE=\\ BYTE=\\ DATA«\\" 

1 1 50 MIMAGE = 0:MCRADDR = &H3FC: DELAY = 1 00 

1 160 REM ===================================== 

1170 REM MAIN BODY OF PROGRAM - KEYBOARD SEQUENCE 

1190 GOSUB2250 

1200 PRINT" = = = = = = = = = = SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER 

1210 PRINT" BAUD-RATE SELECTION" 

1230 PRINT'The SERIAL PORT programmer can operate at several different baud" 

1240 PRINT" rates. Select the baud rate for your system from the list below:" 

1260 PRINT" (1) 300 baud" 

1270 PRINT" (2) 600 baud" 

1280 PRINT" (3) 1200 baud" 

1290 PRINT" (4) 2400 baud" 

1300 PRINT" (5) 4800 baud" 

1310 PRINT" (6) 9600 baud" 

1330 PRINT'Enter the number of your selection — > ";:BAUD$= INPUT$(1) 

1340 PRINT BAUD$:BAUD = VAL(BAUD$):IF BAUD>0 AND BAUD<7 THEN 1360 

1350 PRINT"<<<<< BAUD-RATE SELECTION ERROR >>>>>": GOTO 1330 

1360 BR$ = STR$<300*2"(BAUD-1)) 

1370 GOSUB 2250 

1380 PRINT" = = = = = = = = = = SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER = = = = = = = = = =' 

1390 PRINT" EPROM-TYPE SELECTION" 

1410 PRINT'The SERIAL EPROM programmer has the ability to program several" 

1420 PRINT" different EPROMS. Select the type of EPROM from the list below:" 

1440 PRINT" (1) 2716" 

1450 PRINT" (2) 2732/2732A" 

1460 PRINT" (3)2764" 

1470 PRINT" (4)27128" 

1490 PRINT'Enter the number of your selection — > ";:ESIZE$ = INPUT$(1) 

1500 PRINT ESIZE$:ESIZE = VAL(ESIZE$):IF ESIZE>0 AND ESIZE<5 THEN 1520 

1510 PRINT <<<<< EPROM-TYPE ERROR >>>>>":GOTO 1490 

1 520 DSIZE = 1 024 *2 ~ ESIZE: PAGES = DSIZE/256 

1530 EP1$ = STR$(16*2~(ESIZE-1)) 

1540 EP$="27" + RIGHT$(EP1$,LEN(EP1$)-1) 

1550 DIM ARRAY(DSIZE) 

1560 GOSUB 2250:GOSUB 4790:GOSUB 2250 

1570 PRINT "========== SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER = = = = = = = = = = 

1580 PRINT " CONDITION OF EPROM" 

1600 PRINT" If the EPROM you are programming is fully erased then select" 

1610 PRINT' "EPROM ERASED' from the selection list below. This will save" 

1620 PRINT'the time required to read the EPROM into memory. If the EPROM" 

1630 PRINT'has been partially programmed then select 'PARTIALLY PROGRAMMED"' 

1640 PRINT" and the EPROM will be read into memory prior to programming." 

1660 PRINT" (1) EPROM ERASED" 

1670 PRINT" (2) EPROM PARTIALLY PROGRAMMED" 

1690 PRINT" Enter the number of your selection — > ";:ERA$ = INPUT${1) 

1700 PRINT ERA$:PRINT:ERA = VAL(ERA$):IF ERA = 2 THEN 1740 

1710 IFERAo 1 THEN PRINT"<<<<< SELECTION ERROR >>>>>":GOTO 1690 

1720 PRINT"<<<<< INITIALIZING MEMORY- PLEASE WAIT >>>>>" 

1730 FOR U0 TO DSIZE- 1:ARRAY(I) = 255:NEXT I 

1740 ON BAUD GOTO 1750,1760,1770,1780,1790,1800 



300,n,8,1,rs,cs,ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 
600,n,8,1,rs,cs.ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 
1200,n,8,1,rs,cs,ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 
2400,a8,1,rs,cs,ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 
4800,n,8,1,rs,cs.ds" AS #3:GOTO 1810 
9600,n,8,1,rs,cs,ds" AS #3 



1750 OPEN "COM1:: 

1760 OPEN "C0M1:< 

1770 OPEN "COM1: 

1780 OPEN "COM1: 

1790 OPEN "COM1: 

1800 OPEN "COM1:! 

1810 GOSUB 2250 

1820 PRINT "========== SERIAL EPROM PROGRAMMER = = = = = = = = 

1830 PRINT " BASE-PAGE INITIALIZATION" 

1850 PRINT'The SERIAL EPROM programmer is driven by a keystroke-oriented" 

1860 PRINT'program. The keys are defined in a HELP menu. This help menu" 

1870 PRINT'can be displayed at any time by typing the letter (H) after" 

1880 PRINT'the program has been initialized." 

1890 PRINTPRINT 

1900 PRINT" To initialize the program you must enter the base page" 

1910 PRINT'address of the EPROM This address is generally a HEXADECIMAL value" 

1920 PRINT'corresponding to the beginning page of an even 2K-byte boundary." 



114 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



1930 PRINT" For example 00,08,BO,B8,ete." 

1950 GOSUB 3770:REM SET BASE ADDRESS 

1960 IF HFLAG = 1 THEN HFLAG = 0:GOTO 1950 

1970 IF ERA = 1 THEN 2000 

1980 PRINT'A MEMORY IMAGE OF YOUR EPROM IS BEING MADE" 

1990 GOSUB 3890:REM MAKE MEMORY IMAGE 

2000 GOSUB 2880:REM DISPLAY HELP MENU 

2010 PRINT:PRINT 

2020 PRINT"YOUR PRESENT LOCATION IS:" 

2030 GOSUB 2320:REM READ AND DISPLAY DATA 

2040 PRINT'COMMAND — >"; 

2050 IKEY$ = INPUT$(1) 

2060 IF IKEY$> = "a" AND IKEY$< = "z" THEN IKEY$ = CHR$(ASC(IKEY$) AND 95) 

2070 K = INSTR<K$,IKEY$):IF K = THEN PRINT "WHAT ?";:GOTO 2050 

2080 HFLAG = 

2090 ON K GOSUB 3430,2380,2440,2160,2500,2660,2880,3550,3760,3980,4240,4400 

2100 REM VPNEOWHDIBSL 

2110 IF HFLAG = 1 THEN GOSUB 2880 

2120 IF HFLAG = 1 OR IKEY$="H" THEN 2010 ELSE 2030 

2130 REM ===================================== 

2140 REM BURN EPROM AND END OPTION 

2160 GOSUB 3980 

2170 IF IKEY$o"N" THEN RETURN 

2180 CLOSE:END 

2190 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2200 REM MAIN BODY ENDS HERE - SUBROUTINE MODULES FOLLOW 

2220 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2230 REM DISPLAY STATUS LINE 

2250 CLS:LOCATE 25,1:PRINT USING LINE25$;BR$,EP$,BP$; 

2260 PRINT "COMMANDS: ";K$ 

2270 LOCATE 3,1, 1:RETURN 

2300 REM DISPLAY LOCATION AND DATA 

2320 RDATA = ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) AND 255:REM GET DATUM FROM ARRAY 

2330 PRINT USING FORMAT$;HEX$(BIAS+ PAGE),HEX$(BYTE),HEX$(RDATA) 

2340 RETURN 

2350 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2360 REM DECREMENT ADDRESS 

2380 IF PAGE = AND BYTE = THEN RETURN ELSE BYTE = BYTE - 1 

2390 IFBYTE=-1 THEN PAGE = PAGE - 1 :BYTE = 255 

2400 RETURN 

2410 REM ===================================== 

2420 REM INCREMENT ADDRESS 

2440 IF PAGE = PAGES -1 AND BYTE = 255 THEN RETURN ELSE BYTE = BYTE + 1 

2450 IF BYTE = 256 THEN PAGE = PAGE + 1:BYTE = 

2460 RETURN 

2480 REM OFFSET TO NEW STARTING ADDRESS 

2500 ADD$ = " ":PRINT:PRINT"ENTER NEW LOCATION IN HEXADECIMAL (hhhh) -> "; 

2510 L$ = INPUT$(1):PRINT L$: 

2520 IF L$>= "a" AND L$< ="z" THEN L$ = CHR$(ASC(L$) AND 95) 

2530 IF L$ = "H" THEN HFLAG - 1 :RETURN 

2540 IF L$ = "Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

2550 ADD$ = ADD$+L$:IF LEN(ADD$) = 4 THEN PRINT ELSE 2510 

2560 PAGES = LEFT$(ADD$,2): BYTES = RIGHT$(ADD$,2) 

2570 CON$=PAGE$:GOSUB 31 10IF SUM= -1 THEN 2500 

2580 PAGE = SUM -BIAS 

2590 IF PAGE>PAGES-1 OR PAGE<0 THEN PRINT"< < < < < OUT OF RANGE > > > > >":GOTO 2500 

2600 CON$ = BYTE$:GOSUB 31 10:IF SUM = - 1 THEN 2500 

2610 BYTE = SUM 

2620 RETURN 

2640 REM WRITE TO ARRAY - BYTE BY BYTE 

2660 XFU\G = 0:DATUM$ = " *:PRINT"<<< WRITE MODE >>> ENTER DATA IN HEXADECIMAL (hh) -> "; 

2670 D$ = INPUT$(1):PRINT D$; 

2680 IF D$> = "a" AND D$< = "z" THEN D$ = CHR$(ASC(D$) AND 95) 

2690 IF D$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1 :RETURN 

2700 IF D$="Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

2710 IF D$ = "X" THEN XFLAG = 1 :DATUM$ = " ":GOTO 2670 

2720 DATUM$ = DATUM$ + D$:IF LEN(DATUM$)<>2 THEN 2670 

2730 PRINT;CON$ = DATUM$:GOSUB 31 10:DATUM = SUM 

2740 IF SUM = - 1 THEN 2660 

2750 IF (ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) AND 255)< >255 AND XFLAG = THEN 2830 

2760 DATUM = DATUM OR 256:REM TAG LOCATION AS WRITTEN TO 

2770 ARRAY(PAGE "256 + BYTE) = DATUM:REM WRITE DATUM TO ARRAY 

2780 GOSUB 2320:REM DISPLAY WRITE TO ARRAY 

2790 IF BYTE = 255 AND PAGE = PAGES -1 THEN RETURN 

2800 GOSUB 2440:REM INCREMENT ADDRESS 

2810 GOSUB 2320:REM DISPLAY NEXT LOCATION 

2820 GOTO 2660 

[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 115 



2830 PRINT:PRINT"<<<<<< ILLEGAL WRITE TO PREVIOUSLY PROGRAMMED LOCATION >>>>>>" 

2840 RETURN 

2850 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

2860 REM HELP ROUTINE 

2880 GOSUB 2250REM CLEAR SCREEN 

2890 PRINT'To initialize the program you should enter the beginning page 

2900 PRINT'address of the EPROM to be programmed This value is used when' 

2910 PRINT" printing to the screen and as a bias value in the write modes." 

2920 PRINT'The following single-letter commands are used to control the" 

2930 PRINT"modes of the EPROM programmer: "PRINT 

2940 PRINT" (I) INITIALIZE BASE-PAGE ADDRESS - base address is ";BIAS$:"00" 

2950 PRINT" (V) VERIFY ERASURE 

2960 PRINT" (N) DISPLAY NEXT BYTE" 

2970 PRINT" <P) DISPLAY PREVIOUS BYTE" 

2980 PRINT" (O) OFFSET TO NEW PAGE AND BYTE" 

2990 PRINT" (L) LOAD ARRAY FROM DISK" 

3000 PRINT" (S) SAVE ARRAY ON DISK" 

3010 PRINT" (W) ENTER BYTE WRITE MODE (use Q or H to exit, X to edit)" 

3020 PRINT" (D) HEXADECIMAL DUMP TO SCREEN" 

3030 PRINT" (B) ENTER 'BURN EPROM' MODE" 

3040 PRINT" (H) ENTER HELP MODE (from any input statement)" 

3050 PRINT" (E) EXIT PROGRAM" 

3060 RETURN 

3070 REM =======================»==«««....«.«* 

3080 REM CONVERT HEXADECIMAL TO DECIMAL * 

3090 REM ENTER WITH HEXADECIMAL STRING IN CON$, EXIT WITH DECIMAL VALUE IN SUM 

3110 SUM = 

3120 FOR 1 = 1 TO LEN(CON$) 

3130 X = ASC(MID${CON$.(LEN(CON$)+ 1 -l),1)) 

3140 IF X<48 OR X>70 THEN SUM= - 1 I = LEN(CON$):GOTO 3190 

3150 IF X>57 AND X<65 THEN SUM= - 1 I = LEN(CON$):GOTO 3190 

3160 IF X<64 THEN X-X-48 ELSE X = X-55 

3170 SUM = SUM + (X*16"(I-1)) 

3180 IF SUM>255 OR SUM<0 THEN SUM= -1 

3190 IF SUM= -1 THEN PRINT' <<<< < INPUT ERROR >>>>> 

3200 NEXT LRETURN 

3210 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3220 REM WRITE A BYTE 

3240 WPAGE = PAGE OR 128: REM SET WRITE PAGE (W/R= 1) 

3250 PRINT #3,CHR$(WPAGE): REM SEND WRITE PAGE 

3260 PRINT #3,CHR$(BYTE);:REM SET WRITE BYTE 

3270 PRINT #3,CHR$(DATUM);:REM DATA TO WRITE 

3280 PRINT #3,CHR$(STROBE);:REM WRITE STROBE 

3290 FOR DEL=1 TO DELAYNEXT DELREM WRITE DELAY 

3300 RETURN 

3310 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3320 REM READ A BYTE 

3340 PRINT #3,CHR$(PAGE);:REM SET READ PAGE (W/R-0) 

3350 PRINT #3,CHR$(BYTE);:REM SET READ BYTE 

3360 PRINT #3,CHR$(DUMMY);.REM DUMMY DATA SENT 

3370 PRINT #3,CHR$(STROBE); REM READ STROBE 

3380 RDATA = ASC(INPUT$(1,#3)):REM INPUT DATA 

3390 RETURN 

3400 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3410 REM VERIFY ERASURE 

3430 PRINT:PRINT"VERIFYING THAT EPROM IS ERASED":PRINT 

3440 BYTE = 0: PAGE = 

3450 FOR PAGE = 0TO PAGES- 1:V$«" OK" 

3460 FOR BYTE = TO 255 

3470 IF (ARRAY(PAGE"256 + BYTE) AND 255) = 255 THEN 3490 

3480 V$ = "<<<<<< NOT ERASED >>>>>> 

3490 NEXT BYTE:PRINT"PAGE";PAGE;V$ 

3500 NEXT PAGE 

3510 BYTE = PAGE = 0:RETURN 

3520 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3530 REM DUMP TO SCREEN 

3550 GOSUB 2250 

3560 FOR LN = 1 TO 16 

3570 DPAGE$ = RIGHT$("0" + HEXADECIMAL$(BIAS + PAGE).2) 

3580 DBYTE$ = RIGHT$("0" + HEXADECIMAL$(BYTE),2) 

3590 PRINT USING'V ";DPAGE$;DBYTE$;": "; 

3600 FOR D = 1 TO 16 

3610 DDATA$ = RIGHT$("0+HEXADECIMAL$((ARRAY(PAGE '256 + BYTE) AND 255)).2) 

3620 PRINT USING"Y\";DDATA$; 

3630 IF PAGE = PAGES -1 AND BYTE = 255 THEN D = 16:LN = 16 

3640 GOSUB 2440 IF BYTE MOD 16 = THEN PRINT:D = 16 

3650 NEXT D 

3660 NEXT LN:PRINT:PRINT 

3670 IF PAGE- PAGES -1 AND BYTE-255 THEN PRINT"<<<<<< END OF EPROM > > > >> ":RETURN 

3680 PRINT'ENTER (C) TO CONTINUE OR (Q) TO EXIT DUMP -> ";:IKEY$= INPUT$(1) 

3690 IF IKEY$> = "a" AND IKEY$< ="z" THEN IKEY$ = CHR$(ASC(IKEY$) AND 95) 



116 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



3700 PRINT IKEY$:PRINT:IF IKEY$«"C" THEN 3560 

3710 IF IKEY$ = "H" THEN HFLAG « 1 :RETURN 

3720 IF IKEY$ = "Q" THEN RETURN ELSE 3680 

3730 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3740 REM SET BIAS ADDRESS 

3760 GOSUB 2250 

3770 BIAS$= " ":PRINT:PRINT"ENTER BASE-PAGE ADDRESS IN HEXADECIMAL <hh) — > "; 

3780 B$ = INPUT$(1):PRINT B$; 

3790 IF B$> = "a" AND B$<="z" THEN B$ = CHR$(ASC(B$) AND 95) 

3800 IF B$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1 :RETURN 

3810 IF BS-'-Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

3820 BIAS$ = BIAS$+B$:IF LEN(BIAS$)< >2 THEN 3780 

3830 PRINT 

3840 CON$ = BIAS$:GOSUB 3110:BIAS = SUM:PRINT:PRINT:IF SUM=* - 1 THEN 3770 

3850 PAGE = 0:BYTE = 0:BP$ = BIAS$ + "00":GOSUB 2250:RETURN 

3870 REM READ EPROM TO ARRAY 

3890 PAGE = 0:BYTE = 0:GOSUB 2250 

3900 GOSUB 3340 

3910 ARRAY(PAGE*256 + BYTE) = RDATA:IF BYTE = THEN PRINT'READING PAGE";PAGE 

3920 BYTE = BYTE + 1:IF BYTE = 256 THEN PAGE = PAGE + 1 :BYTE = 

3930 IF PAGE< = PAGES -1 THEN 3900 

3940 PRINT:PAGE-0:BYTE«0:RETURN 

3950 REM = = = = = = =* = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

3960 REM WRITE ARRAY TO EPROM 

3980 GOSUB 2250 

3990 PRINT"<<<<<< BURN ALL PROGRAMMED BYTES 7? >>>>>> 

4010 PRINT"TYPE (Y) TO PROGRAM EPROM" 

4020 PRINT"(Q) TO RETURN TO PROGRAM" 

4030 PRINT"(H) TO DISPLAY HELP MENU" 

4040 PRINT'(N) TO RETURN TO PROGRAM FROM 'BURN' MODE" 

4050 PRINT'TO ABORT PROGRAM IN EXIT' MODE." 

4060 PRINT:PRINT"ENTER SELECTION — > ";:IKEY$ = INPUT$(1) 

4070 PRINT IKEYS 

4080 IF IKEY$> = "a" AND IKEY$< = "z" THEN IKEY$ = CHR$(ASC(IKEY$) AND 95) 

4090 IF IKEY$ = "N" THEN RETURN 

4100 IF IKEY$ = "H" THEN HFLAG = 1 :RETURN 

4110 IF IKEY$="Q" THEN PRINT:RETURN 

4120 IF IKEY$< >"Y" THEN 3990 

4130 FOR ADD = TO DSIZE 

4140 DATUM = ARRAY(ADD):IF DATUM <256 THEN 4190 

4150 DATUM = DATUM AND 255:BYTE = ADD MOD 256: PAGE -(ADD- BYTE)/256 

4160 PRINT "BURNING ";:GOSUB 2320 

4170 GOSUB 3240.GOSUB 3340 

4180 IF RDATA< >DATUM THEN PRINT <<<<<< DATA NOT VERIFIED >>>>>> 

4190 NEXT ADD 

4200 PRINT:BYTE = 0:PAGE = 0:RETURN 

4210 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

4220 REM SAVE ARRAY IN DISK FILE 

4240 GOSUB 2250:PRINT"THE DISK FILE CREATED HERE WILL CONTAIN ALL THE DATA" 

4250 PRINT-PRESENTLY CONTAINED IN YOUR EPROM MEMORY IMAGE AND" 

4260 PRINT-WILL BE ASSIGNED THE FILE EXTENSION 'PRM'." 

4270 PRINP'THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF EXISTING DISK FILES WITH" 

4280 PRINT'THE FILE EXTENSION \ PRM \": PRINT: PRINT 

4290 FILES "\PRM":PRINT:PRINT 

4300 INPUT'ENTER THE FILENAME OF YOUR NEW DISK FILE -> ".FILENAMES 

4310 IF FILENAME$="H" OR FILENAMES = "h" THEN HFLAG = 1;RETURN 

4320 IF FILENAME$="Q" OR FILENAME$ = "q" THEN RETURN 

4330 OPEN "0",#1,FILENAME$+".PRM" 

4340 FOR l = TO DSIZE- 1 PRINT #1,(ARRAY(I) AND 255); 

4350 IF I MOD 256 = THEN PRINT "SAVING PAGE";l/256 

4360 NEXTI:CLOSE#1:RETURN 

4370 REM = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

4380 REM LOAD ARRAY FROM DISK 

4400 GOSUB 2250:PRINT:PRINT"THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF FILENAMES WITH THE FILE" 

4410 PRINT-EXTENSION '.PRM":PRINT:PRINT 

4420 FILES "VPRM":PRINT:PRINT 

4430 INPUT'ENTER A FILENAME FROM THE LIST ABOVE — >", FILENAMES 

4440 IF FILENAME$ = "H" OR FILENAME$ = "h" THEN HFLAG = 1:RETURN 

4450 IF FILENAME$ = "Q" OR FILENAME$ = "q" THEN RETURN 

4460 OPEN "l",#1,FILENAME$+".PRM" 

4470 FOR l = TO DSIZE- 1:INPUT #1 , DATUM 

4480 IF i MOD 256 = THEN PRINT "LOADING PAGE";l/256 

4490 IF DATUM = 255 OR DATUM = {ARRAY(I) AND 255) THEN 4560 

4500 IF ARRAY{I)< >255 THEN 4520 

4510 ARRAY(I) = DATUM OR 256:GOTO 4560 

4520 PRINT"<<<<<< ILLEGAL INPUT DATA FROM FILE >>>>>> 

4530 PRINT"< < < < < < ATTEMPT TO WRITE OVER PROGRAMMED LOCATION >>>>>>" 

4540 PRINT"<<<<<< PROGRAM HAS BEEN ABORTED >>>>>>" 



[continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 



117 



4550 
4560 
4570 
4580 
4600 
4610 
4620 
4630 
4640 
4650 
4660 
4670 
4680 
4690 
4700 
4710 
4720 
4730 
4750 
4760 
4770 
4780 
4790 
4800 
4810 
4820 
4830 
4840 
4850 
4860 
4870 
4880 
4890 
4900 
4910 
4920 
4930 
4940 
4950 
4960 
4970 
4980 
4990 



CLOSE#1:END 
NEXT l:CLOSE #1 RETURN 
REM = = = = = = = = = = 



REM DISK-ERROR ROUTINE 

IF ERR = 53 AND ERL = 4290 THEN PRINTN0 PRM FILES RESUME 4300 

IF ERR = 53 AND ERL = 4420 THEN PRINT'NO PRM FILES' :GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 53 AND ERL = 4460 THEN PRINT'UNKNOWN FILE ":GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 61 THEN PRINT "DISK FULL":GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 57 THEN PRINT'RESET EPROM PROGRAMMER 'GOTO 4670 

IF ERR = 67 THEN PRINT'UNKNOWN FILENAME. DON'T TYPE " PRM"':GOTO 4670 

CLOSE#1 PRINT 'UNKNOWN ERROR #";ERR;"IN LINE #";ERL 

PRINT "PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE -> ";:IKEY$ = INPUT$(1):PRINT 

IF ERR -57 THEN RESUME 

HFLAG = 1 

RESUME 2110 

ON ERROR GOTO 

REM ==================================== 

REM CONFIGURATION ROUTINE 

DATA 255.255, 1 96,255, 1 96,255. 1 96,255,255, 1 96,255,1 96 

DATA 026, 1 96,255,255,255, 1 96,255, 1 96, 1 96,255,255, 1 96 

DATA 1 96,255, 1 96, 1 96,255,255, 1 96,255, 1 96,255,255,255 

DATA 1 96,255, 1 96. 1 96,255,255. 1 96,255, 1 96,255, 1 96,255 

IF ESI2E = 1 THEN RESTORE 4750 

IF ESI2E = 2 THEN RESTORE 4760 

IF ESIZE = 3 THEN RESTORE 4770 

IF ESIZE = 4 THEN RESTORE 4780 

LOCATE 1,22:PRINT "JUMPER CONFIGURATION" 

LOCATE 3.30:PRINT CHR$(201);CHR$(205);CHR$(205);CHR${187) 

FOR I = 4 TO 1 5 

LOCATE l,30:PRINTCHR${199);" ";CHR${182);"J";I -3 
NEXT I 

LOCATE 16.30PRINT CHR$(200);CHR$(205);CHR$(205);CHR${188) 
FOR l = 4 TO 15 

READ JUMPER 

LOCATE 1.31 PRINT CHR${JUMPER);CHR$(JUMPER) 
NEXT I 

LOCATE 4.38 

IF ESIZE = 2 THEN PRINTNOTE: INSTALL J1 FOR 2732A EPROMs 
LOCATE 18,20: PRINT "If jumpers are not properly configured" 
LOCATE 19,20: PRINT "shut off programmer and set jumpers," 
LOCATE 20,20:PRINT "then turn programmer back on." 
LOCATE 22.20: PRINT "Press any key to continue — > "; 
A$ = INPUT$(1):RETURN 



created with a SAVE command in the 
program can also be used to enter the 
data. 

A help routine is provided in the 
program to assist the user during the 
operation of the programmer. It con- 
sists of a menu that contains all the 
choices available in the driver pro- 
gram. The routine can be entered 
from any location in the program by 
typing the letter H. A screen-dump 
routine and an EPROM erasure-veri- 
fication routine are also provided. 

In Conclusion 

The serial-port EPROM programmer 
isn't designed for volume program- 
ming. It's intended to be a cost- 



effective transportable programmer 
that doesn't become outmoded with 
each new computer and system bus. 
You'll also find, cleverly embedded in 
every programming cycle, enough 
time for you to take a well-deserved 
coffee break. 

Circuit Cellar Feedback 

This month's feedback begins on 
page 393. 

Next Month 

I've always been intrigued by home 
control and electronic messaging. In 
March, I'll tackle the subject in 
earnest, beginning with a Touch-Tone 
Interactive Message System. ■ 



Special thanks to Larry Bregoli for his software 
expertise. 

Editor's Note: Steve often refers to previous 
Circuit Cellar articles. Most of these past ar- 
ticles are available in reprint books from 
BYTE Books, McGraw-Hill Book Company. 
POB 400, Hightstown, NJ 08250. 

Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar. Volume I covers articles 
that appeared in BYTE from September 1977 
through November 1978. Volume II covers 
December 1978 through June 1980. Volume 
111 covers July 1980 through December 1981. 
Volume IV covers January 1982 through lune 
1983. 



To receive a complete list of Ciarcia's Cir- 
cuit Cellar project kits, circle 100 on the 
reader-service inquiry card at the back of 
the magazine. 



118 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



A 



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Golden Common Lisp is a registered trademark of Gold Hill Computers. GCLisp is a trademark of Gold Hill Computers. The Lisp Explorer is a trademark of San 

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Inquiry 123 




120 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




PREVIEW 



THE 

MACINTOSH 

OFFICE 



by John Markoff and Phillip Robinson 



Editor's note: The following is a BYTE prod- 
uct preview. It is not a review. We provide this 
advance look at this new product because we 
feel it is significant 

ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY of the 
introduction of the Macintosh, Apple 
Computer has introduced AppIeTalk, 
which is a new local-area network 
(LAN), and a series of intelligent net- 
worked peripherals, including a laser 
printer and file server. The company 
hopes these products will make the 
"Macintosh office" a popular choice 
for work groups in large and small 
corporations. 

AppIeTalk and the laser printer are 
scheduled to be shipped in March. 

The network was developed to 
serve as a small-work-group intercon- 
nect system, as a tributary to larger 
high-speed local-area and long-haul 
networks, and, in its most basic form, 
as a peripheral bus between an Apple 
computer and dedicated peripheral 
devices. 

The new Apple LAN concept is a 
radical departure from common in- 
dustry thinking about LAN design (for 

(continued) 
]ohn Markoff and Phillip Robinson (1000 
Elwell Q., Palo Alto. CA 94393) are BYTE 
senior technical editors. 



ILLUSTRATED BY JOAN HALL 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 121 



THE MAC OFFICE 



AppleTalk networks 
the Macintosh and 
a new laser printer. 



more information on Apple's plans for 
the future see the text box 'Steve 
Drops By" on page 124). Instead of 
providing a high-bandwidth channel 
to link personal computers to each 
other and to larger remote computers, 
Apple designed its LAN to be a low- 
speed, low-cost network for small 
work groups. 

The AppleTalk architecture relies on 
the distribution of "intelligence" in 
network peripherals and on the clever 
use of the network's limited speed. 
Apple is betting that the principal bar- 
rier to networking office microcom- 
puters has until now been cost. By 
focusing on an LAN that is optimized 
to share resources among small 
groups, the company hopes to 
achieve a better match to the organi- 
zation of the typical office. 

Since the introduction of the Macin- 
tosh, Apple has changed the name of 
its LAN from AppleBus to AppleTalk. 
When Apple first described the LAN. 
the company emphasized the net- 
work's role in providing the Macintosh 
with "virtual" serial slots for periph- 
erals as an alternative to the open 
hardware architecture of the Apple II. 
As it is released, AppleTalk goes 
beyond this. However, you may still be 
able to daisy-chain peripherals by 
adding a smart network controller. 
But for now, Apple has decided to 
leave this option to third parties. One 
manufacturer, Tfecmar Inc. has already 
demonstrated the ability of its 68000- 
based hard-disk system to control 
both an ImageWriter and an Apple 
modem. 

Apple is moving toward putting 
microprocessors in all or most of its 
peripherals. This design philosophy 
plus the standardization on the Zilog 
SCC (serial-communications con- 
troller) chip that is now used in the 
Lisa, Macintosh, and Apple lie com- 
puters, will make the task of network- 



ing peripherals simpler. 

At the time of AppleTalk's introduc- 
tion, Apple is only demonstrating the 
LAN with a prototype 20-megabyte in- 
telligent file-server hard-disk system, 
which you will need for network ap- 
plications such as electronic mail and 
print spooling. However, we were told 
that -the hard disk will be announced 
in August 1985 and it will cost $3 500. 
An electronic-mail communications 
package for AppleTalk is also 
scheduled to be announced at the 
same time. 

The company is also discussing a 
variety of future network products 
such as a bridge to link individual 
AppleTalk networks, an interface to 
the recently announced IBM PC LAN, 
communication servers, network data- 
bases, and as many as 50 third-party 
hardware and software development 
projects based on AppleTalk. Details 
of these products aren't yet available; 
therefore, it is difficult to assess 
AppleTalk at present. But after several 
false starts at developing a LAN, 
Apple is moving toward making it 
possible to link its products in office 
and other workplace settings. 

AppleTalk 

The heart of AppleTalk is the Macin- 
tosh serial-communications chip, a 
two-channel Zilog 8530 SCC that pro- 
vides synchronous and asynchronous 
data communications at up to 230.4K 
bits per second (bps) using a self- 
clocking data format. (The 8530 will 
provide data communications at 
speeds as high as 1 megabit per sec- 
ond, using an external clock. Corvus 
Systems Inc. has also used this higher- 
speed scheme in its Macintosh imple- 
mentation of the Omninet LAN.) 

At the physical level, AppleTalk con- 
sists of a shielded twisted-pair trunk 
cable with modules that are passive- 
ly connected to computer and periph- 
eral nodes via a short drop cable. An 
individual AppleTalk network can 
have up to 32 nodes and has a packet- 
switching protocol and a data rate of 
230.4K bps using FM modulation (a 
bit-encoding technique that provides 
self-clocking) over a maximum 
distance of 300 meters. 



Externally AppleTalk is simple, con- 
sisting of the connection modules, 
each of which has two miniature DIN 
three-pin connectors, and a DB-9 port 
that connects to the printer port on 
the Macintosh via a 2-meter cable. In- 
side each connection module are 
resistors, a capacitor, and a small 
transformer, designed so that the link 
is transformer-isolated and not 
susceptible to any kind of radio- 
frequency interference (RFI) or static 
discharge. 

Apple calls the connector modules 
self-terminating, which keeps you 
from worrying about line termination 
and, in combination with the trans- 
former, lets you add nodes to the net- 
work and remove them without dis- 
rupting network functions. A 100-ohm 
terminating resistor is included in 
each connector box, and there are 
two switch connections that are 
opened when the miniature DIN con- 
nectors are inserted. If both connec- 
tors are used, the switches are open, 
but if one of the connectors is not 
used, the terminating resistor is con- 
nected across the line. 

AppleTalk uses a dynamic-address- 
ing scheme that ensures that each 
node on the network has a unique 
8-bit address (there is also a 
mechanism for internet communica- 
tions across bridges and through 
gateways). The AppleTalk destination 
address is used to "filter" frames at 
the data-link layer. Frames are not ac- 
cepted unless their destination ad- 
dress matches the address of the 
receiving node. The SCC chip 
facilitates this process by performing 
the address-recognition function in 
hardware. 

AppleTalk doesn't require that a 
particular node's address be per- 
manently recorded or set with 
jumpers. The advantage of this is that 
you can move computers and periph- 
erals between networks and install 
them by simply attaching them to the 
network. For example, Apple claims 
you can bring your Macintosh to the 
network, plug it in, insert a disk, and 
turn it on. No special network con- 
figuration is necessary. Setting of the 
node address takes place when the 



122 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



THE MAC OFFICE 



computer first looks at some non- 
volatile memory to find a previous ad- 
dress it has saved, or when it com- 
putes a new address based on the 



generation of a pseudorandom num- 
ber. The computer then tests the ad- 
dress to see if it already exists on the 
network by sending a special packet 



to the address. If the address is 
already in use the node there will 
answer and a new guess must be gen- 

icontimted) 



We met Burrell Smith and Bud 
TVibble and the rest of the 
Macintosh office design crew in the 
Macintosh headquarters, one of the 
many Apple buildings in Cupertino, 
California. After moving beyond the 
lobby we heard someone play a pret- 
ty piece of music on a grand piano in 
the center of a large open area that 
also had sofas and a Ping-Pong table. 
On the left was the Matisse room; we 
used the Picasso room on the right. 
During the introduction, someone 
mentioned that Steve would drop by 
later. When Steve Jobs did drop by he 
had some interesting things to say 
about Apple's plans and strategy 

"We hope to be able to offer people 
two things based on the Macintosh 
technology. The first, using the graphics 
and the power of that box, is radical 
ease of use That was the first benefit 
of the Macintosh and that's the one 
we've really been trumpeting this last 
year. 

"We are just now beginning to dem- 
onstrate the second great benefit of 
that graphic user interface—capabilities 
that you can't do on any other com- 
puter. You can't do the kind of project 
management you can do on Mac, you 
can't do stuff you can do with Mac- 
Draw, you can't print out entire forms 
or create forms on other computers. It 
will take something like the LaserWriter 
to really drive that home. As we roll out 
the next pieces that complement the 
workstation, I think it's going to 
become very clear to people why the 
graphic user interface is so important. 

"Ultimately we think that these prod- 
ucts are going to be used to help peo- 
ple communicate with each other. Not 
analysis, not computationally intensive 
things for their own sake, but things to 
help people communicate much as the 
telephone did. And in terms of com- 
munication, look at middle-manager 
productivity in particular. Yes, we col- 
lect information, we analyze it, but then 
we draw conclusions from it and we 
need to communicate those conclu- 
sions to people around us. 



Steve Drops By 

"We communicate in two ways. One, 
with paper, and the paperless office, 
which generates more paper than the 
traditional office; we've all found that 
out because we give people tools that 
generate the paper. So we've got to im- 
prove the quality of visual communica- 
tion, improve the ability to communi- 
cate via paper. That includes overhead 
transparencies, which I think are going 
to be a big use for the printer. We can 
do that through the software tools on 
the Mac and through the ability to print 
them. 

"The next way that we can radically 
improve communication is to elec- 
tronically link up people. We can start 
to do things like mail, electronic 
scheduling, and a variety of things that 
will improve how we communicate with 
each other. The result of improving 
those two ways of communication, I 
think, is going to be startling, when 
coupled with the fact that you can 
learn how to use the system in a half 
hour. 

"I also think we're holding true to our 
vision o4 trying to remove the service 
and support requirements from the 
equation of success so that we don't 
have to send out a person at a thou- 
sand dollars per half day to help you 
install your computer system. 

"AppleTalk plugs together and you 
don't have a chance to forget to hook 
up the terminator plugs because there 
aren't any, and you don't have to set 
the thumb-wheel switches because 
there aren't any, and you don't have to 
run the network master-configuration 
program because there isn't any. You 
just plug it together like a telephone 
or stereo and it works. And its very, 
very difficult to do wrong. Those little 
things are what keep you from having 
to go out and hold people's hands, run 
them through half-day training courses, 
and things like that. 

"We think that networking is going to 
start from the bottom up in small work 
groups. If you've got four people on 
the network, which is a typical number 
to start with, it will cost SI 50 per per- 



son for the head end. So you've got to 
have about $1000 to hook up a com- 
puter to the net. It may be worth it 
someday when there's a lot of great 
software. But, right now not many are 
going to pay a thousand bucks to hook 
up a $2000 computer to a network. 

"And that's what AppleTalk is all 
about. Nobody's hooking up to nets 
because there isn't enough software 
that makes it worthwhile. There isn't 
enough software that runs in nets 
because if you write software to run in 
a net, there's nobody to sell it to 
because there aren't any nets. So it's 
a circular problem. No nets, no soft- 
ware; no software, no nets. We want to 
break through that logjam with Apple- 
Talk costing 50 bucks a computer. 

"We just wish the whole world would 
standardize on a net. We'd all be happy 
Just give us the jacks in the walls every- 
where; we'd have no problem calling 
it the IBM net or the AT&T net, but it's 
not coming together. Ultimately we 
feel that |the standard] network in the 
office is going to be the digital phone 
switch and not something that Apple 
or IBM comes up with. It turns out that 
the rates at which the digital-phone- 
switch standards are emerging (the 
CCITT IComite Consultatif International 
Telephonique et Telegraphique| stan- 
dards) are very close to AppleTalk 
rates. They're about anywhere from 64 
kilobits per second up to maybe 192 
kilobits per second. 

"So the rates we have chosen will 
probably map well to the ultimate rates 
of what will be the office network. And 
that's how the voice-data integration 
will take place, through a digital CBX, 
not through our network or IBM's net- 
work. The decision that we made was 
fundamental; put intelligence in the pe- 
ripherals. The really interesting thing 
that's happening isn't the products 
themselves, it's the software standards 
that are being set. As an example, Post- 
Script is more important, in a way, than 
the printer |the LaserWriter] . "Though 
we think that particular printer is what's 
going to make PostScript a standard." 



FEBRUARY 1985 ■ BYTE 



123 



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lOOOea DS/DD, 48 Track (IBM-PC Pr*tornutted) NEW $1695 





UST OUR 


CDC lOOea SS/00. 40T (Apple, IBM) 


$550 $ 195 


lOea SS/TJO. 40T (Apple. IBM) 


$ 55 $ 21 


100eaDS/t».40T(IBMH/Pj 


$750 $ 295 
$ 75 $ 32 


lOea DS/DO, 40T (IBM H/P) 


DYSAfi lOea SS/DD ft* efc) 


$ 40 $ 27 


10 ea DS/DO 48T(BMH/P,etc) 


$ 69 $ 33 


MAXELL, lOea. SS /DO. 3V(MAC) 


$ 60 $ 35 


10 ea,DS/QD. HiDensrry (IBM-ATI 
lOeachMDl. SS/DD 


$ 90 $ 55 

$ 55 $ 19 


IQeach.MOZ DS/DD 


$ 75 $ 26 


MEMOREX. 10 ea, SS/50. 3*T (MAC) 


$ 65 $ 37 


VERBATIM. lOeach MO515-0L SS/DD $ 49 $ 27 


10each,MD34DS/t» 


$ 84 $ 32 


lOeach. IV SS/DO (MAC] $ 65 $ 35 


GENERIK" DISKETTES 




AS LOW AS $1 




NO HASSLE 


W/Jackets, 


MONEY BACK 


no (abets, top quality 


GUARANTEE 


90 day warranty 


ONQENEHMCS 


lOOea. SS/SD, 35 Track (Apple. Atari) 


$415 $ 85 


250 ea. SS/SD. 35 Track (Apple. Atari) 


$1038 $ 22S 


lOOOea ., SS/SD. 35 Track (Apple, Atan) 


$4150 $ 750 


100 ea. DS/DO. 48 Track (IBM. H/P) 


$626 $ 119 


250 ea. DS/DO. 48 Track (IBM, H/P) 


$1565 $ 319 


lOOOea. DS/DD. 48 Track (IBM, H/P) 


$6260 $ 995 



MODEMS 

mw *' r "-* **»* ust qui 

ANCHOR. Signalman Mark XII $ 399 $ 269 

HAYES, IBM-PC Smartmodem 12008 $ 599 $ 409 

IBM-PC Smartcom II Software $149 $ 99 

Micrornodernllew,'Smartcom $ 329 $ 239 

Micromodem lOO(S-lOOous) $399 $275 

Stack Chronograph (RS-232) $249 $ 189 

Stack Smartmodem 3O0(RS-232) $289 $ 225 

Smartmodem 1200 (RS-232) $699 $ 489 

IBM-PC to Modem Cable $ 39 $ 19 

KENSINGTON, Modem 1200 $ 595 $ 385 

NOVATION, 103/212 Smart Cat $595 $415 

SmartCat Plus w /software (MAC) $ 499 $ 379 

ACCESS 1-2-3 ( 1200B-H>osstaik XVI) $ 595 $ 369 

Apple Cat II 300 BAUD $389 $249 

212 Apple Cat 1200 BAUD $725 $559 

Cat $189 $ 139 

J-Cat $ 149 $ 104 

212AutoCat $695 $ 579 

PROMETHEUS, ProModem 1200 (MAC) $495 $350 

ProModeml200B(IBM) $399 $289 

OUADRAM. Quadmodem, Internal IBM $ 595 $ 425 

Quadmodem, Stand atone $ 695 $ 495 

MONITORS 

*AMDEft Cokx Senes 

Color 300 Comp/Audc $349 $259 

Cotof 500 Comp /VCR/RGB /Aud» $525 $395 

Cotor 600 Ht Res. RGB /Audio $649 $495 

Cotor 700 Lltra Hi Res, RGB $ 749 $ 595 

12" Green, #300G $ 179 $ 119 

ir Amber #300A $ 199 $ 149 

ir Amber. #310A for IBM-PC $230 $ 159 

13' Cotor IV. RGB, 720Hx4O0V.JBM) $ 795 $ 685 

PRINCETON RGB Hi Res, HX 12 $795 $499 

RGB Hi Res, SR- 12 $ 799 $ 599 

Scan Doubter tor SR- 12 $249 $ 179 

Amber. MAX -12 (tor Mono Board) $249 $ 199 

OUADRAM Quadchrome 12 H RGBCotor $695 $495 

Quedscreen 17* 968x512 w/cabte $1995 $1595 

Quadchrorne 11,14" RGB Cotor $650 $450 

Amberchrome. ir Amber $250 $185 

*ZENfTH 12" Amber, ZVM 122 $ 159 $ 95 

ir Green, ZVM 123 $200 $ 89 

12" Amber, ZVM 124 $ 200 $ 139 

\T Cotor, ZVM 135 $ 599 $ 469 



PRINTERS 

DOTMATRDC: 



PRINTER INTERFACES 
& BUFFERS L st our 



UST 

EPSON, JX80-Colrjr Porter. 160 cps 

LQ15OQ200&67CPS $1395 

RX80-100cps $269 

RX80-F/T $ 369 

RX100-100rjpU36cot,pjn-Jr $499 

FX8Q-160CP5 $699 

FX1QQ-160CPS $895 

• MANNESMANN Spr*-80coL 80cps $399 

TALLY, 160-80 col, I60tps $ 798 

180— 132 col., 16Ccps $1098 

OKJDATA, SB-Wot, 120 cps, para $ 349 

83A-132 col., 120 cps, para $749 

84-136col,200cps,para $1385 

92-80 col.. 160 cps. para $499 

93—136 col., 160 cps, para $ 799 

2410f--Pacemark,350cps,para $2995 

QUADRAM Quad* Inkjet Color Pnnter $895 

*STARMIC.Gem.ni l(TX, 120cps, 18" $499 

Gemin 15"X, 120cps, 15" $ 549 

TOSHIBA, 

l340-144cps(LQ)4 54cps(DQ) NEW $ 995 

1351-100 cps $1895 

TTX. TTXpress, prjrterjte/handhekl40cps $ 229 



OUR 

InStoc* 



ARBO, I BM-PC to Para Printer Cable $ 60 

EPSON. Parallel Interface for LQ1500 $ 100 

Serial Interface Board $130 

MrKXApplell l/F & (^ for F4OT& Germ $ 95 

C4GTMTA. F\« n Ray, Tractors, C*»japh,ea $ 50 

tnStock ORANGE MKROGrappler Plus tor Appte $149 



$ 299 
$ 568 

$ 778 
$ 319 
$ 599 
$1095 
$ 399 
$649 
$1995 
$ 795 
$ 269 
$ 419 

$ 795 
$1375 
$ 129 



Buttered Grappler Plus, 1« 
PRACTICAL, Mcrobuff In-Une 64K,para 
Microbuff In-Une 64K,ser. 



$239 
$349 
$349 



$ 30 
$ 79 
$ 105 
$ 59 
$ 42 
$ 99 
$ 159 
$ 259 
$ 259 



QUADRAM AH expandable ^/copy to 512KJ (Snapon to 64K| 



M«:ro!azer. w /Copy. PP. 8K, #MP8 w/PS $ 1 79 

Microtazer. w/Copy. PP, 64K, #MP64w/PS $ 299 

Microfazer, w/Copy, pp, 128K. w/PS $ 375 

Microtazer, Snap-on, 8K, PP, Epson w/PS $ 169 

Microfazer. Snap-on, 64K. PP. Epson w/PS $299 

STAR MICRO, Serial Interface & Cable $ 92 



$ 139 
$ 229 
$ 345 

$ 129 
$ 229 
$ 79 



CABLES 



LETTER QUALITY: 

♦JUKL 6300— 40CPS. para $ 995 $ 795 

♦JUKI. 610O-18cps.para3p«ch $ 599 $ 449 

♦TTX Mli4-npjaj| m jMMfcJjk) $ 499 $ 365 

1114-sane»1014w/T/F.2al«jiop $ 599 $ 439 



PLOTTERS: 

AMDEK. Amptot II. 6 pen. 10 x 14 Bod $1099 $899 

MONTER SUPPLIES: 

Trsdor Feed Paper, Ribbons, Daisy Wheals. CALL 



ARBO. IBM-PC to Modem Cable $ 31 

IBM-PC to Para Printer Cable $ 60 

ASTARRf Modulator for TV (Apple) $ 35 

CURTIS Monitor Extension Cable (IBM) $ 50 

3-9 Keyboard Extern. Cable (IBM) $ 40 

RCA. Monitor Cable $ 15 

STAR MICRO. Serial interface & Cable $ 92 

ACCESSORIES 

Curtis, Diamond, 6 outlets, switched $ 50 

Emerald, 6 outlets. 6 cord $ 60 

Ruby. 6 outlets, 6' cord, hrter $ 90 

Sapphire 3 outlets .w .-lifter $ 80 

EPD. Lemon $ 60 

Ume $ 90 

Orange $ 140 

Peach $ 98 

INNOVATIVE, Fi(Kvfile 10 (JBketto fokJal $ 7 

Flip-n-Fite 50 ktekefle holder) $ 22 

K*ns**orx Masterpece (IBM) $140 

PC Saver*- Une Cord w/hiter (IBM) $ 50 

Remote Control (IBM) $ 180 

System Saver Fan (Apple) $ 90 

NETWORK Wretree 4 out»aw,*j& surg? $ 70 

r*RFECTDATArteadCteanr«Ki $ 16 



$ 115 
$ 69 
$ 35 
$ 12 



, CREDIT CARD 

IaPPUCATTON FORM 

IPtase send me a Conroy 

ILaPonkaedtcard * 
jppkeater tonn I under m 
-stand there s no 3% chare: 
I an Conroy Laftxnte cred* 
| card purchases Wnimurr 



nbal purchase rs $400 



STATE 



_ I 

ZIP | 



124 BYTE 



MAAL^ ra IZOtOSV^ Omr den P^^J > ortl*nd.OR9^22^ | 
FEBRUARY 1985 



ORDERING INFORMATION * TERMS: 



MAIL TO 12060 SW Garden Place. Portland. OR 97223 mdude your telephone number, 

double check your figures tor Shippmg. Insurance and Hmdkng (SIH) AJI items usually m stock. 
NO COD. Cashiers checks, money orders, Fortune 1000 checks and government checks— *e mmeduWy honor rVsonal and other company checks-allow ?0 days to dear 
Pnces reflect 3% cash discount so ADO 3% to above pnoss tor VISA MasterCard or American Express. Add SIH CHARGES: US Mainland, 3% ($5 minimum) for standard UPS 
ground. UPS Blue 6% ($10 m«mum). tor US Postal. AP0 or FPO. 12% ($15mifflmum) Haw* -UPS Blue For Alaska or Canada-JJPS n some areas only, al others Postal -cat 
or wrrte, or speaty Postal. Foreeji orders except Canada, 18% ($25 minimum) Monitors by Postal or to toreign countnes, 30% ($50 minimum) Orders received with insufficient SIH 
charges w* be refunded AJI pnces. avalabsty and specrhcaoons subject to errors or change without notice, so cal to verrfy AN goods are new. include warranty and are guaranteed 
to work. Due to our km pnces and our assurance that you wi get new, unused products— ALL SALES ARE FINAL CaH before returning goods tor repair or replacement 
0*TCRDESKrWUR3-4MMtoGPMraT.Moridsytrwouf*F^ 

Fsrtrst "eidt*irt T -*»tri ii»iti or CosiX CorporaOon K »mtMt*rt)' m* WW w* b ri mm ki o< ~ 



LOW PRICES TO PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY WANT AND KNOW HOW TO USE 171 



COMPUTER 
SYSTEMS 

— Catt for Details — 



256K IMm- PC 

360K 



Disk Drives 
by CDC 

90 Day 

Limited Warranty 
By Us 




256K, 2 360K Disk Drives 

® SANYOkh 

256K, 2 320K Disk Drive, 

Tel^/idea pc. 

256K 2 360K Disk Drives. 8088 Chip 



zisa 

256K. 2 320K Disk Drives, 

MS DOS 2 1,8088 Chip, 2 S/P CALL 



DRIVES 



AND 

ACCESSORIES 



fof the IBM-PC Of XT 



UST OUI 

PRICE PRlCf 




Amdsh V, M height internal. 320/36OK 
Amd.sk III. 3" Dual Floppies. 500* 



CONTRpL 
DATA 

DISK DRIVES 

320K/360K 
DS/DD 



q^p£$169fuU HEIGHT 
$149 HALF HEIGHT 

30 Day Limited Warranty by Factory Authorized Distributor 
CDC, -. Hi Dual Drive Installation Kit $ 30 $ 16 

MAYNARD, Floppy ConL (w/Para.Port) % 300 $ 239 

Interface w /Para Port $300 $ 185 

Interlace w/Ser Port. $310 $195 

PERFECT DATA. Head Cleaning Kit $ 16 $ 12 

QL1ADRAM 

Qu addtsk Internal Hard Disks w /Controller I N STOCK 



HARD DISKS 

Convert your PC to 10 meg and to be XT compatible with 
one of the following INTERNAL HARD DISK SYSTEMS Kits 



are quality engineered 
' tl compatible 
asy to install Includes 10 Megabyte Hard Disk. Controller 



work with DOS 2 0/2 1 Com 
iletely XT compatible All you need is your DOS manual 



Card and Instructions 

KKxxnerrrtan 
Labs 

•Megafligtrt 100. 10 mbyte Hard Disk Kit $ 799 

MAYNARD 

10 meg Hard Disk Kit WS1 Sandstar 

Controller will accept 3 Sandstar modules $1395 $1150 



* MEANS A BEST BUY 



FOR YOUR IBM-PC or XT 



* 1984 by Conroy-LaPointe, Inc 

AH Rights Reserved 



LIST 
ADVANTAGE MuKrf Bd for AT 

SaPakPlus.64K,S/P/a+S/W $ 396 

9«PaW I 1us.258X.S/rVCC+aw $ 695 

StaPakft&384W/CC+&W $895 

Game Fort for Su Pak $ 50 

1/OHusllS/P/CC $215 

l/OPkisll.S/P/CC/G $265 

l/OPtusll. 2S/P/CC/G $315 

McncOaphft^P/rxftotrAB) $ 495 

PCNet, Starter Kit, PC 002 $1490 

PCNet Circuit Board,PC001 $ 695 
ComboPlus Product 
MegaRus Product 

/-nint-io UNKMontxtt&swwIbase $ 50 

UUKIIO 3 to 9 Keyboard Ejtten Cable $ 40 
Vertical CPU System Stand'' 
Monochrome Ext Cable Pair 

HAUPPAQEJgaj,^ 

8087 Software Pak 
8087 Macro Pak 
Color Card w /par a. 



(HCW) 



urffy>l II CC uxor Lard w/para^ 
ntnUULCO Graphics Card. Mono 
KAMERMAN. External Power Supply 
KENSINGTON, Masterpiece 

PC Saver " une Cord w /Fitter 



KB51S1, Std keyboard 

KB5151|r. keyboard 
I* | Koala Pad^w/PC Design 

IT O (3 Id Programmer's Guide 
II A VII A DO Muftrfunctjon (6) Card, MFC 
mm i nnnu f^^ q^ ^ MM 

*? N - L Memory Card 251* 

HardDsk . I/F Module (HOM) $ 499 
$ 30 



$ 25 
$ 50 

$175 
$295 
$180 
$245 
$245 
$499 
$395 
$140 
$ 50 
$209 
$255 
$255 
$150 
$ 15 
$ 89 
$199 
$495 



STAR 

SERIES Harare cable 

Para Port Module (PPM) $ 59 

Senal Port Module (SPM) $ 95 

Oock Cal Module (CCM) $ 55 

Game Adapter Module (GPM) $ 49 

Memory Module "UK (MMO) $ 122 

Memory Module 25* (MM256) $ 422 

XT10 meg Hard DekAI/FWSl $1395 



OUR 

CALi 

245 

395 

465 

39 

150 

18S 

215 

375 

795 

365 

CALL 

CALL 

39 

30 

19 

35 

159 

235 

138 

195 

169 

329 

295 

95 

39 

159 

199 

199 

89 

14 

79 

169 

395 

399 

27 

49 

79 

4S 

43 

99 

357 

1150 



4164 Ops, 200 ns 



UST 
$ 12 



MICROSOFT g££ Card 25**625 



PC f Booster with Mouse 
System Card. 64K 



$195 
$495 
$395 



$ 450 
$ 139 
$ 329 

$ 275 



MOUSE SYSTEMS.PC Mouse w/PC Part $ 295 $ 189 

$ 285 



PARADISE, Modular Graphics Card $ 395 

PLANTR0NICS 

Color Board & Cotormagcie cotor.w/Para $ 559 
Color Board & Draftsman. 16 color, w /Para $ 559 



$ 395 

$ 395 



QUADRAM 



* Quadboard no RAM expand to 384K $ 295 

* Quadboard 64K, expand to 384K.S/P/K $ 395 

* Quadboard 25*. expand to 384K.S/P/CC $ 675 

* Quadboard 384K. S/P/CC/G $ 795 
Quadboard II no RAM. expand to 25* $ 295 
Quadboard II, 64K.expand to 25W.2SVCC $ 395 
Quadboard II. 25* 2S/CC $595 
Quad 512 ♦ 64K plus serial port $ 325 
Quad 512 + 25* plus senal port $ 550 
Quad 512 + 512K plus senal port 
Quadcolor I. board. 16 colors 

* Upgrade Quadcolor I to II kit 
Quadvue, board, Mono/S/TMX 

* Quadchrome, 12" RGB Color Monitor 
Quadchrome II, 14" RGB Color " 
Amberchrome, 12" Amf 
Quad 3278 
Ouadnet vt 
Quadnet IX 

* QuarJmk 



$ 

$295 
$275 

$795 
$650 
$250 
$1195 
$2295 
$1995 
$680 



TG PROOUCTS, joystick $ 45 

Titan Accelerator PC {8086+ 128K) $ 995 



$ 225 
$ 245 

$ 475 
$ 525 
$ 215 
$ 265 
$ 395 
$ 265 
$ 420 
$625 
$ 195 
$ 199 
CALL 
$495 
$ 450 
$ 165 
$1080 
$1545 
$1745 
$ 449 



$ 29 

$ 750 



*ChipKrt 

$35 

9 Each. 4164, 200 re 

90Day Warranty by us 



Call tor Larger 




©1983 
Conroy-Laftimte, Inc. 



• ComX 
EconoRAM™3S4K BOARD 



$350 



Wth Fastrak" RAM Dok Emulator and Spot** Software 
FuHy CornpaObte, 1 Year United Warranty by ComX 

Works on DOS 1 1.2 Oor 2 1 
Prices and availability subject to change. Cal. 



SOFTWARE for IBM-PC or XT 



BUSINESS & TRAINING 



APPUEDSOfT.,VersaForm $389 

MKTMMCt. Jane $295 

* ASHTONTATE. Framework $ 695 

* dBase III $695 

* dBase II. (req PC-DOS 4 1 28K) $495 

* dBase II to HI upgrade $ 200 
Everyman s DB Primer (Book) $ 15 
Frtday' $295 

ATI Training Programs— Large Inventory $ 75 

BK Job Cost Accounting $ 795 

Gen'J Acctg, AR. AP or PR. each $ 595 

Personal Accounting $ 195 

*BROOERBUND, Bank Street Writer $ 80 

Ct>£XTraminB Programs —Large Inventory $ 70 

^CONTINENTAL. Jtrafe $ 195 

Tax Advantage $ 70 

Home Accountant Plus $150 

FCM (F*n& Catalog^ Maimg) $125 

Property Management $495 

DKITHiUMPIO&PCtoMAC&Back $100 

DOW JONES. Investment Evaiuator $139 

Market Manager $ 300 

Market Analyzer $350 

Market Mkroscope $350 

FOX&GELLERdUUfMS-DOSorCP/Maa $ 99 

Quckcode or dGraph, each $ 295 

HARVARD, Total Project Manager HEW $495 

Harvard Project Manager $ 395 

HAVDEN, Pie Writer $200 

Pie Speller or Sargon III, each $ 50 

HOWARDSOfT, Tax Preparer $ 250 

Real Estate Analyzer $250 

HUMAN EOGE.UmriuricjrjDns Edge KW $1 95 
Mind Prober NEW $ 50 

Managements or Negrtatxr Edge.ea $250 

IUS. Easy Writer II System $ 350 

EasySpetter II $ 85 

GL AR AP. 0£ or INV. each $595 

Business System GL+AR+AP $1495 

HNSOFT.Graf 0RTH (aramated 3D graphics) $ 125 

*KEN$1NGTON,Easy Link Mari Manager $ 95 



BUSINESS & TRAINING 



IntoStar Plus {♦ Starburst) 
M a i M ei ge, SpelStar or Startndex, n 
ProOprjon Pak (MM/SS/SJ) 
•iS) RBase Seres 4000 
Extended Report Wr<er 
RBase Cfout 
MICROSOFT, Spel HE 



Chart or Project each 
Word 



$595 
$ 99 
$195 
$495 
$150 
$195 
1% 50 
$195 
$250 
$375 
$475 

MONOGRAM Dc**s &^se*. forecast $180 

MULTIMATE. Mutomate $495 

OPENSV5.GLAFlAP.PRINVorPO.each $695 

*OSBORNEA»MX. (Book & Busin, Stat & Math 

Programs on OS/DO Oeks) 

Some Common Basic Programs (70 ea.) $100 

Practical Baste Programs $ 100 

PEACHTREE. Peach Pak $ 395 

Peach Text 5000 $ 395 

PERFECT/THORN, Perfect Writer $ 349 

Perfect Writer & SpeHer Combo 
PROFESSIONAL Trivia Fever 
QUADRAM, Tax Strategy 

Investment Strategy 
QUE. IJa^ 1-23 or 1-2-3 tor 



J 315 
$ 54 
$ 105 
$269 

S.S 
US 

$ 159 
$ 235 
$299 
$ 105 



KNOWARE. Kncware (reft graphics) $ 95 

UFETREt Votkswrrter Deluxe $ 395 

Voikswnter $195 

UV1NG VIDEOTEXT. Think Tank $ 195 

LOTUS, 1-2-3 $495 

Symphony $695 

MDBS. Knowtedgeman $500 

MECA. Managing Your Money $195 

MICROPRO. WordStar* $ 350 

WordStar 2000 $495 

WordStar 2000 Plus $595 

WordStar Professional Plus $695 

WordStar Professional, 4 Pak $495 



$ 125 
$ 30 
$200 

$ 170 
$119 
$ 32 
$ 159 
$250 
$ 125 

SS§ 
IS 

iiS 

$ 105 
$ 105 
$309 
$465 
$300 
$ 125 
$ 169 
$295 
$325 



Prokey 
ARTS. 



$3 

$ 40 

$395 
$395 
$ 15 

$130 



TKSoh«fMSDOSorPCOO$spec) $399 
SOFTWARE DIM. Accounting Plus $495 

SOFTWARE INTL Open Access $695 

SOFTWARE PUBUSHINCPf S:Report $ 125 

rf SFte.PFSWhte,PFSfiraph,Pf Sflan $ 140 

PfSProof 
SORCiM, SuperC* III 
SSI /SATELUTE. WordPerfect 



(CP/M 86) $ 200 

C8ASCtoripJer(CP/M-86arPCDOSei) $900 

Pl/l(PC00S) $750 

Pt/1 {CP/M 86) $ 750 

Speed Prog. Pkg. [CP/M- 86] $200 

mutimmm $100 

FUNK SOFTWARE. Sideways $ 60 

HAYES Smartcom II (Data Com.) $149 

HNSOFT. Gr aFORTHIanimated 3D graph} $ 125 

LIFEBOAT, Lattice t REW$500 

MICROSTUF. Crosstalk XVI (Data Cora) $195 

MtCROSOFT. muMath/muSmp $ 300 

Business BASIC Compiler $600 

Pascal Compiler $300 

C Compiler $ 500 

BASIC Compiler $395 

FORTRAN Compiler $350 

COBOL Compiler $700 

MOUSE SYSTEMS. PC Pamt NEW $ 99 

NORTON. Utilities 2. Q 14 programs $80 

OPEN SYS, BASIC Interpreter NEW $ 195 

$130 



1525 
1479 
I 135 



99 

99 
295 
129 
199 

l« 

1329 

1259 
1229 




STONEWARE, Advanced D B Master 

SUMMA, Trader's Forecast 

Trader's Data Manager 

Trader's Accountant 

Complete System 
WSKORP.VtaCafc4 



$ 95 
$395 
$495 

$195 
$595 
$250 
$200 
$350 
$700 
$250 



1295 
12 
S7 



$295 
$395 

$ 79 
$ 99 
$ 59 
$ 245 
$235 
$ 99 
$395 
$ 159 
$ 129 
$219 
$445 
$ 159 



♦ARMONK, Executive Suite $ 40 

BLUE CHIP. Millionaire or Tycoon.each $ 60 
BPt SYSTEMS, Personal Accounting $ 99 
CBS, Large Inventory m Stock 

COMPREHEN..PCTutor(llor2.aea.) $ 60 
CONTINENTAL Home Accountant PKc $150 
DA VtOSON. The Speed Reader If $ 75 

Word Attack' or Math blaster', each $ 50 

DOW JONES, Home Budget $139 

HARCOURT, Computer SAT $ 80 

MICROSOFT. Flight Simulator II $ 50 

MONOGRAM. Dollars 4 $ense $ 165 

PBL COUP.. Personal Investor $ 145 

SCARBOROUGH. MasterType $ 50 

SIMON t SCHUSTER, Ty ping Tutor I M $ 50 



33 

110 



ATARL (^tipscfe PacMan or Donkey .eacn $ 



& SYSTEM 



WA Large Inventory ri Stock 

S ARTS,Full bne m Stock 



Stdefuck 

Sidekick (Coptabie) 

Turbo Pascal or Toolbox, ea. 
•CENTRAL POINT. Copy II PC 
«COMX, Fastrak". RAM/Disk 



$ 85 
$ 55 

$ 40 



ELECTRONIC/ 

EPYX Auto Sim or Temple of Apshai 
HAYDEN, Sargon III (Chess) 
INFOCOM, Deadhne or Suspended, ea. 

ZorklorZorkllorZorkllUach 



and printer spooler program. Works on any 

PC .DOS version or RAMCard Menu Driven $100 



*INSOF r, Mystnx,Wordtru or Quotnx,ea 



DIGITAL RES.. CP/M-9S" (PC/XT) 
Concurrent CP/M- 86" w /windows 



$ 80 
$835 



in 

$225 



'. Fkght Simulator II 



SPINNAKER. Large Inventory m Stock 
SUB LOCK, Wight MpaionPrba*. 



$ 40 

$ 50 

$ 50 

$ 40 

$ 35 

$ 50 

$ 60 

$ 40 

$ 40 



CALL 
27 
34 
33 
27 
25 
33 
39 
. 25 

CALL 
• 27 



CASH-n-CARRY COMPUTER STORES. INC. 

Over-the-counter sales onfy Open Monday through Saturday. 10:00 to 6 00. 
SAN FRANCISCO - NEW STOREI 550 Washington Street 
[at Montgomery, opposite the Pyramid). Interstate 80, to Highway 
480, take Washington Street Exit. CALL (415) 982 6212. 
PORTLAND. OREGON - At Park 217, Tiurd at intersection of 
Highwravs 217 and 99W CALL (103) 620-5595 
SEATTLE. WASHINGTON - 3540 128th Ave It Bellevue. WA 
98006 In Loehmann's Plaza near Factona Square^ South East of 
Highway 405 & 90 and at South East 36rh and Ffchards. CALL 641-4734 



NO 
SALES TAX 



OUR REFERENCES: 

We have been in computers and electronics since 
1958, a computer dealer since 1978 and in compu- 
ter mail order since 1980 Banks: 1st Interstate 
Bank, (503 643-4678 We belong to the Chamber of 
Commerce (503) 228-9411 and Direct Marketing 
Assotcabon, or call Dunn and Bradstreet rf you are a 
subscriber. 



£Bs; 


■1 COHROY- 



SS?SUTOLLFREE 

(800) 5471289 

OREGON ONLY (800) 451-5151 



(503)620-9877 



HOTUNE 



(503)620-9878 

WEEKDAYS ONLY 



ORDER DESK HOURS 

Morvfri-6AAA to «rMPST 
StaunaW-lOAM to 4PM PST 

(6AM here B 9AM n %w VorlO 



Inquiry 72 for IBM Peripherals. Inquiry 73 for Apple. Inquiry 74 for all others. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 125 



THE MAC OFFICE 



era ted by the new arrival. 

AppleTalk divides node addresses 
into two classes: server node and user 
node. The system reserves 2 55 pos- 
sible addresses; hexadecimal address 
FF is a special "broadcast" address 
used to reserve the line for transmis- 
sion as part of the network's scheme. 

AppleTalk is based on an open sys- 
tem architecture (see figure 1). Apple 
has published detailed information on 
the suite of network protocols that 
comprise AppleTalk and has held a 
number of seminars to aid third-party 
vendors that are developing software 



and hardware applications for the 
network. 

The AppleTalk protocols implement 
a packet-switching scheme that pro- 
vides functional correspondence with 
the International Standards Organiza- 
tion (ISO) Open Systems Interconnec- 
tion (OSI) model. Protocols equivalent 
to the ISO OSI layers 1 through 5 
(physical, data link, network, trans- 
port, and session) are at the core of 
AppleTalk. 

The access scheme to the network 
is based on a CSMA/CA (carrier sense 
multiple access with collision 







AppleTalk Protocol Architecture 

Layered, Open System 




P 
/ 
F 


tinter 
access 
totocol 




AppleTalk 

Filing 

Protocol 












x"""'/ 






Name 

Binding 

Protocol 




/ 












/ RMiahle Hata trm 


i sport 






1 














Routing 
Table 

Maintenance 
Protocol 




AppleTalk 

Transaction 

Protocol 














Sj 


acket-to- Socket Delivery on an internet 














Datagram 

Delivery 

Protocol 












J 


sIode-to-Node Delivery on a single AppleTalk 














AppleTalk 
Link 
Access 
Protocol 

+ 
Physical 
Layer 





















Figure 1 : A diagram of AppleTalk's protocol architecture, printed by the 
LaserWriter. 



avoidance) model. Although both 
AppleTalk and Ethernet are based on 
a bus topology, they differ in the way 
they handle the problem of data col- 
lisions on the network. 

Ethernet provides hardware capa- 
bility for detecting collisions. Apple- 
Talk, on the other hand, implements 
collision avoidance in software at the 
data-link level. The AppleTalk Link- 
Access Protocol (ATLAP) software 
handles the address-assignment 
mechanism, the frame format, and the 
frame transmission and reception 
process. 

In the AppleTalk collision-avoidance 
scheme all transmitters wait until the 
line is idle This time interval is deter- 
mined by the generation of a pseudo- 
random number whose range is ad- 
justed based on perceived bus traffic. 

As part of this scheme each trans- 
mitter can send special broadcast 
frames (addressed to all nodes in the 
network) that reserve the line by in- 
forming other nodes that it is prepar- 
ing to send a packet. The transmitters 
use directed frames (or packets) to 
send data to a single address on the 
network. 

While a transmitting node is send- 
ing to a receiving node, a dialogue 
takes place. If a collision occurs dur- 
ing the dialogue, the sending node 
backs off and tries again, adjusting the 
randomly generated time interval. 
This adjustment follows a linear back- 
off algorithm that changes dynamical- 
ly in response to recent network-traffic 
history. If the node detects collisions 
among recently sent packets, this sug- 
gests higher loading and greater con- 
tention for the bus. Thus, the random 
wait that is generated is calculated 
over a larger range, effectively spread- 
ing out the different contenders for 
the line. 

Apple reports that it has extensive- 
ly tested AppleTalk's CSMA/CA pro- 
tocol and is satisfied with its ability to 
remain stable under heavy network 
loads. 

In addition to ATLAP AppleTalk 
consists of a variety of other protocols 
that generally correspond to other 
levels of the ISO OSI model. 

{continued) 



126 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




*& 



f ' Lri % 



TIED UP 
WITH DATA RECORDING? 

Here comes SEED to set you free. 



Are you frequently tied up with typing large 
amounts of data from printouts into your personal 
computer, or frustrated at not being able to use it 
while it is being used as an expensive data collection 
device? If so, then let a SEED set you and your PC 
free. 

These highly portable and cost effective data 
recording units allow you to continuously record 
data wherever and whenever you want via an RS- 
232C serial interface onto a diskette for analysis or 
editing later on your PC. 

SEED 1 is intended for use with an Apple II 
compatible disk drive (single or dual drive - 120 
Kbyte memory per disk) and after recording, the dis- 
kette can be loaded into your Apple II, lie or III per- 
sonal computer. 

SEED 2 is intended for use with an IBM PC and 
has the additional advantages of a built-in disk drive 
unit, a 350 Kbyte memory, single or double sided, 
double density disks, and dip switch selectable baud 
rate, parity and data bits. 

An optional analogue/digital conversion unit 
is available for each model. 



Both SEEDs can be used for a really wide range of 
data recording applications: 

in the office where data can be recorded from 
mainframe, other computers or serial communica- 
tion networks 

in the laboratory where results can be recor- 
ded from samples being measured continuously, in- 
cluding overnight runs 

on the factory floor where performance data 
can be recorded from instruments undergoing qual- 
ity control testing prior to shipment 

So now there's no need to get tied up with data 
recording. All you need is SEED. 






manachioy 

Iso-Heikkilantie 14, SF-20200 Turku, Finland, 
Tel. (9)21-307 000, Telex 62665 maroy sf 



USA, CMK Associates, Inc., (408) 374 1805; CANADA, Fisher Scientific, (613) 226 8874; W, GERMANY, LKB Instrument GmbH, (89) 85830, Isolab, (05609) 2736; FRANCE, LKB Instruments 
S.A., (6) 928 6507; AUSTRIA, LKB Instrument Ges.m.b.H, (0222) 92 1607; ENGLAND, LKB Instruments Ltd., (01) 657 8822; SWEDEN, SEED Trading, (08) 768 5595. 

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM PC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Corp. 



Inquiry 196 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 127 



THE MAC OFFICE 



While ATLAP handles node-to-node 
delivery of packets on a single Apple- 
Talk network, a Datagram Delivery 
Protocol (DDP) extends this mecha- 
nism to socket-to-socket delivery. 
Sockets are logical entities in the in- 
dividual nodes of a network. An in- 
dividual socket is identified by a 
1-byte address. Therefore there can 
be as many as 2 56 different socket ad- 
dresses on a single node. The DDP is 
designed to provide addressing and 
packet delivery between several 
AppleTalk networks connected by a 
bridge. A bridge might consist of a 
single node connected to two Apple- 
Talk networks or it might consist of 
two nodes, each connected to a sep- 
arate AppleTalk network, connected 
by a communications channel. 

Additional protocols include a 
routing table maintenance protocol 
(RTMP) that permits any AppleTalk 
node to "discover" network routing in- 
formation, such as the number of the 



LAN to which it is directly attached; 
a name-binding protocol (NBP) that 
permits users to access network ad- 
dresses by names rather than num- 
bers; and the AppleTalk transaction 
protocol (ATP), designed to ensure 
loss-free delivery of packets from a 
source socket to a destination socket. 

On the Macintosh, these protocols 
are implemented as 5.5K bytes of 
code written in assembly language. 
Because the SCC chip handles ad- 
dress recognition, the network pro- 
tocols take no system overhead unless 
a particular node is directly addressed 
over the network. 

Initially AppleTalk will link groups 
of Macintosh computers to the Laser- 
Writer laser printer, an impressive 
68000-based electronic printing 
system that will provide hard-copy 
output of any text or graphical image 
that can be displayed on the Macin- 
tosh screen. The special significance 
of the LaserWriter is that it is in- 



Adobe Systems and 
the PostScript Language 



Adobe Systems Inc., of Palo Alto, 
California, was started by a 
number of researchers who left Xerox's 
PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). In 
particular, John Warnock, president of 
Adobe, was a principal scientist at 
PARC for raster-graphic display tech- 
niques. Charles Geschke, the executive 
vice-president, was a manager of the 
Imaging Sciences Laboratory at PARC. 

Adobe is trying to make PostScript— 
their text and graphics language— a 
business standard. Unlike most print- 
file description languages, PostScript is 
not a static, data-structured written 
description: it is a programming lan- 
guage. When the Macintosh commu- 
nicates with the LaserWriter, it actual- 
ly sends a program across AppleTalk. 

According to Geschke, "When the 
program arrives at the 68000 in the 
printer and begins executing, it has one 
very interesting side effect, namely, it 
drives the video on that laser and pro- 
duces output. But it is really a program 
description that is generated on the 
Macintosh and is executed on the 
printer." By using PostScript, the 



amount of information sent across 
AppleTalk can be trimmed, in some 
cases, to just 10 percent more than the 
raw ASCII (American Standard Code 
for Information Interchange) data. 

PostScript is completely encoded in 
the printable character subset of 7-bit 
ASCII code and so is completely invisi- 
ble across any kind of communications 
line, not just AppleTalk. PostScript can 
handle any material: text, line-art, 
photographies, and even color (for 
printers that can use it). While photo- 
graphic images are sent as bit maps, 
graphics are sent as commands and 
the fonts are sent as mathematical 
outlines (based on Bezier cubics) that 
can be stroked, filled, scaled, oriented, 
or used as clipping boundaries. And 
it is flexible, as Geschke pointed out. 
"If you're really into graphic art you can 
adjust the shape of the half-tone dot, 
the shape of the tonal production 
curve, the orientation of the screen, 
and its frequency." 

Adobe isn't only working with Apple. 
You'll be seeing PostScript in other 
systems from other companies. 



tegrated with PostScript, a page- 
image-description language devel- 
oped by Adobe Systems, a start-up 
company founded by a group of elec- 
tronic-printing experts who recently 
left Xerox Corporation (see the text 
box Adobe Systems and the Post- 
Script Language" below). PostScript is 
essential to the viability of AppleTalk 
because it permits extensive com- 
pression of the information the Laser- 
Writer needs to print bit-map images. 

Laser Technology 

Laser printers are fast, quiet, and 
capable of high-resolution printing. 
Until recently, they have also been 
very expensive, ranging from $50,000 
to $400,000. 

A laser printer has a raster-scanning 
laser that projects the print image 
onto an electrostatically charged 
photosensitive drum. A set of rotating 
mirrors manipulates the beam— the 
laser itself doesn't move. Wherever 
the laser beam touches the drum, the 
static charge is nullified. Toner (par- 
ticles of colored plastic) is then at- 
tracted to those points. The printer 
rolls paper against the drum and the 
toner sticks to the paper. Finally, a hot 
fuser permanently affixes the toner by 
melting it onto the page. 

The price of laser printers has 
dropped dramatically because of de- 
velopments such as Canon's LBP-CX 
marking engine. That engine, which is 
also used in Canon's personal copiers, 
combines several fundamental printer 
components into a single, inexpen- 
sive, disposable cartridge. Because 
those same components— including 
the toner and drum— frequently 
needed repair and replacement on 
laser printers, the Canon engine great- 
ly improves reliability 

The LaserWriter's disposable car- 
tridges (made by Canon) cost $99 
each and will print approximately 
3000 pages. That puts the price in the 
range of 3 cents per page. The Laser- 
Writer prints on ordinary copy paper 
but can also use bond paper, Euro- 
pean and legal-size paper, transparen- 
cies, envelopes, labels, or even busi- 
ness cards. Several different toner 

{continued) 



128 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




Windows With A View 
Toward The Future 

The Window 
Machine™ occupies 
only 12K! Written in 
tight, fast Assembler, 
it performs like a 
racing engine... with 
more power than 
you'll probably ever 
need. Yet, it's an 
engine designed to fit 
in the vehicle of 
your choice. ..from a 
"stripped-down" 
128K IBM PC to a 
fully loaded AT. The 
programs you write 
today will run on 
the broadest range of 
machines possible... 
now, and in the 
future. 

Windows Bigger 
Than Your Screen? 

Here's where the 
VSI part of our name 
fits in. VSI means 
Virtual Screen Inter- 
face. Behind each 
window, there's a 
much bigger picture. 
VSI defines virtual 
screens rather than just windows. The 
window itself shows whatever portion of 
its virtual screen you wish to exhibit at 
any given point in your program. Each 
screen can be up to 128 x 255 (columns x 
rows, or rows x columns). And there are 
more than 100 screen primitives at your 
command. 

Multilingual Windows 

You can order The Window Machine 
with the language interface of your choice: 
C, Pascal, Compiled Basic, Fortran, Cobol, 
or PLl. We've even recently completed 



AMBER SYSTEMS, INC 



These are 
coders' 
windows... 
designed to be 
built into the 
programs you 
ore writing. 
They can 
overlap, move 
anywhere on 
the screen, 
grow, shrink, 
vanish or blink. 
They can be 
bordered in 
anything from 
a simple line to 
flashing 
asterisks.,, or 
even no border 
at all. And 
you can have 
up to 255 of 
them at a time! 
Color or 
monochrome 
...of course! 



Why did Simon & 
Schuster, 3COM, 
Tymshare, and 
Revlon choose 
VSI-The Window 
Machine? 



[and how come 
you can buy it /or 
such a low price?) 



an interface for Turbo Pascal*, so that 
now true, full-featured windowing can be 
utilized with this fine compiler. (Turbo's 
own built-in "windowing" procedure is 
extremely limited). 

Windows That Won't Break You 

We decided to save you a lot of money. 
So, we left behind fancy binders, mono- 
grammed slip cases and plastic pre- 
sentation boxes. Instead, you 11 rind an 
extremely powerful tool and a 200 page 
manual written with an eye toward 
simplicity, clarity and completeness. (We 

*Turbo Pascal is a Trademark of Borland Internationa/ 



^-Sunnyvale Road, San Jose CA 95129 



$59.95 




figured if you wanted ribbons and bows 
you could always add them yourself.] 

And by offering you the product our- 
selves, we were able to cut out all the 
middlemen and save you a tremendous 
amount of money. 

\MWMThe Window 
WmmMachine" 

Available far the IBM PC. XT. AT, IBM Compatibles, 
and the Wanji. T.I., HP 150. and Tandy 2000. 

The Window Machine Includes: 

* Zoom Windows 
i Multiple Virtual 
Screens [up to 255) 
■ Choice of Borders 
(including flashing borders} 
m Support for all Color and 
Monochrome Video Attributes 
[no graphics card required) 
i Built-in Diagnostics 
And much, much more 

ORDER YOUR COPY OF 

VSI— THE WINDOW MACHINE TODAY 

For Visa, MasterCard and 

American Express orders call toll free: 

1-800-227-3800 ext. 986 



The Window MicbiM" S59.95 Shipping and handling included 

LANGUAGE INTERFACE: 
D Lattice C ORealia Cobol DMicrosofl Basic Compiler C Microsoft Fortran 
□ PLl QMicrosoft Pascal DTurbo Pascal [full featured true windowing! 
COMPUTER 



Name . 



-Stale Zip Code_ 



City 

D Check DMoney Order DV1SA DMaslerCard D American Express 

Card # Exp, Date 

'California residents: lax included. Orders outside the USA: please addSS 
for shipping and handling. 






SYSTEMS 

1171 S Saratoga-Sunn wale Road 
San |ose, CA 95129 



Inquiry 18 



FOR DEALER INQUIRIES: CALL OUR 800 NUMBER 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 129 



THE MAC OFFICE 



colors are available. 

The Canon engine is used in the 
LaserWriter and many other new laser 
printers, from Hewlett-Packard's 
$3495 LaserJet to the $10,000 QMS 
800. These laser printers can turn out 
eight pages a minute and yet make 
only about as much noise as a copier. 
All of these machines can print at the 
same 300-dots-per-inch resolution. 
While far better than standard dot- 
matrix printers, they aren't up to the 
1200 dots per inch or better that 
phototypesetters produce (see figures 
1 and 2 for samples of the Laser- 
Writer's output). Still, unless you're a 
graphics expert, it is hard to 
distinguish this resolution from 
typeset text. The difference between 
the various Canon-based laser 
printers is in the controllers; each 
manufacturer uses its own controlling 
computer. 

Because the laser scans synchro- 
nously across the page, image dots 
must be fed to the laser at exactly the 
right time. That requires data storage 
in the printer itself. Shipping data to 
the printer memory as a simple bit 
map would take too much time for 
most users. An RS-232C port running 



at 19,200 bps (bits per second) would 
take nearly 7 minutes to send the 
7,920,000 bits for a single page; even 
the speedier AppleTalk network 
would take half a minute. To ease that 
bottleneck, most manufacturers put 
some form of intelligence, such as en- 
coded graphics instructions and pre- 
loaded fonts, into the printer con- 
troller. Then the computer need only 
send a condensed form of the print 
image to the printer controller. 

The least intelligent controllers have 
limited printing capabilities. The 
Hewlett-Packard LaserJet, for instance, 
can only print 6 square inches of 
graphics per page and has a limited 
set of character fonts. On the other 
hand, the expensive QMS printer uses 
a standard Tfektronix terminal emula- 
tion (a set of graphics protocols). For 
example, instead of sending a bit map 
of a circle to that printer, a computer 
only needs to send the Tfektronix in- 
struction to print a circle of a certain 
size, shape, and position. 

LaserWriter Hardware 

The Apple LaserWriter printer can 
generate a variety of fonts and high- 
quality graphics with the help of a 



J-3 Piper Cub 





Figure 2: Sample output from the LaserWriter. 



powerful built-in computer and the 
PostScript language. 

The LaserWriter's internal com- 
puter-controller board was designed 
by Burrell Smith, a key figure in the 
Macintosh design group, and is built 
around an 1 1.2-MHz 68000 processor, 
1.5 megabytes of RAM (random- 
access read/write memory), and 0.5 
megabyte of ROM (read-only mem- 
ory). The ROM contains the PostScript 
code. 

The laser-printer project's design 
goals were formed when Adobe Sys- 
tems suggested that a laser printer 
could offer graphics without giving up 
letter-quality text. Part of this involved 
making the printer controller as intel- 
ligent and as fast as possible, so that 
encoded information could be sent 
over the AppleTalk LAN to spare the 
network a huge overhead burden. 

Of the LaserWriter's 1.5 megabytes 
of RAM, half a megabyte is used for 
temporary scratch-pad buffers and 
font caching and a full megabyte is 
devoted to the screen. The Laser- 
Writer has other small memory com- 
ponents, such as a static RAM cache 
of 4K bytes that allows the 68000 to 
process faster by executing inner 
loops without any wait states. In ad- 
dition, Apple built into the hardware 
one of the most common input trans- 
fer modes. Burrell Smith said, "We do 
a classical OR between contents of 
memory and the data you wish to 
enter to the frame buffer— in a single 
bus cycle." 

Apple is a high-volume producer. To 
that end, it has kept the component 
count on the board low— there are 
only 34 chips plus memory and 
resistor packs. In comparison, one 
competing laser-printer controller 
board has close to 150 chips. The 
LaserWriter board has been designed, 
as was the Macintosh, for automatic 
insertion and test. The chip tech- 
nology used is generally the same as 
for the Macintosh: 2 5-nanosecond 
PAL (programmable-array logic) chips, 
2 56K-byte dynamic RAM chips, and 
2 56K-byte ROM chips. Smith noted, 
"What we re trying to do is take rela- 
tively expensive technologies and 

(continued) 



130 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



A shelf 
loaded with 

software is 
impressive, 
but 



one simple 
program 

loaded with 
capabilities 
isbetter. 




To get a lot out of a printer, you need a lot of 
pre^rams, right? 

Wrong 

True, your customers want to change type sizes, 
create their own characters, and even print sideways. 
But you don't need to stock a lot of different 
printer utilities. One simple program wili blow all 
the others right off your shelt 

Printworks. It's loaded. 



rlrj 

tin Sof tStyle 

Soft Style, inc. • 7192 Kalamanaoie Hwy. • Suite 205 
Honolulu Hawatt 96825 * Phone (800) 367-5600 



$69.96 retail. SoftStyle products are distributed by Softsel and Ingram Software. 

Simple Menu Control • Pivot Priming ™ lets you print sideways quickly and easily • Prints full IBM character set including line graphics, math and science symbols • 

Foreign language characters • Easily set print modes: condensed, emphasized and more * Create new characters or entire fonts • Many fonts included • Supports 

thousands of popular software packages including Wordstar, dBase!! and Lotus 1 -2-3. 

Printworks enhances over 30 dot-matrix printers: C.ITOH Prowriter {8510, 1550, 7500 all with the letter "£" included in the model number), CENTRONICS Hor&on 

{H80J, EPSON (FX*80/lOa RX-8O/10O, JX-60, LQ-1500, MX-SO/Wil wimGraftrax Plus), IBM Graphics Printer, INFORUNNER Rtteman (Plus, Blue Plus, It 151 

NECPinwhter (P2-3, P3-3), OKIDATA (ML 84 Step 2, ML 92 and 93 with or without Ptug 'n Play Kit, Pacemaffc2350 and 2410), and STAR (Gemini 10X/15X Radix 

10/15, Delta 10/15), For the IBM PC, PC-XT, PC|r., Compaq and many other IBM compatibles Needs 128Kand DOS 11 or later. 



Inquiry 284 



FEBRUARY I985 'BYTE 131 



THE MAC OFFICE 



make them ourselves." 

Once the print image has been 
completely set in the RAM, the printer 
needs to ship it out to the laser ap- 
paratus as quickly as possible. That 
task is aided by the 68000, which 
helps drive the video electronics. The 
central processor stores the data in 
two FIFO (first-in/first-out) memories. 



That scheme allows a minimum 
amount of bus contention between 
the microprocessor and memory. 
Everything on the board is a slave to 
the 68000. That flexible architecture 
is exported, for example, by the 
margins of the page to be printed. 
When the margins move inward, the 
frame buffer used for generating the 





Each subject is a 3-tape series. The Basics will take you from the beginning and lead you through 
dBASE II commands. You will soon be creating your own databases, editing files, deleting records, etc. 
Application Programming will teach you program layouts, bops, structures and so much more. You 
will be writing your own programs within hours. 



dBASE 



#DB125 - THE BASICS 

#DB135 - APPLICATION 

PROGRAMMING 



* 



Coming soon... 
dBASE III. 
WORDSTAR, 
MS-DOS- 
CP/M- 
LOTUS 123- 
MULTIPLAN- 

* MuluPlan and MS DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft. 
Inc. CPM is a regislered trademark of Digital Keseanh Wordstar 
1S a registered trademark of MicroPro dBASE II and dBASE II! are 
registered trademarks ol AshtonTate Lolus 123 is a registered 
li.ult'iri.uk ol Lotus Corp 



\/uc opTA 




Vrlo-otil/Y 




H49 95 SS " $279 95 

pg^ ^ COD, CHECP 

— ORDER BY PHO 

Call Toll Free 1-800- 
From California 1-916- 


BDTH 
DB125& DB135 

:s, m/o 
NE — 

624-4525 
546-3371 




Western Video 
Productions 

P.O. Box 2300 
8079 N. Lake Blvd. 
Kings Beach, CA 95719 



bit map is actually reduced in size- 
allowing more RAM to cache the 
fonts. 

The Macintosh has nonvolatile pa- 
rameter memory that allows it to 
remember certain modifiable control 
settings between uses. Apple decided 
to further explore that scheme in the 
LaserWriter by putting in a 0.5K-byte 
EEPROM (electrically erasable pro- 
grammable ROM), which is expand- 
able to 2 K bytes. As Smith points out, 
that is "equivalent to 16,000 DIP (dual- 
inline package) switches." 

The AppleTalk port isn't the only 
way to drive the LaserWriter. There is 
also a DB2 5 connector with complete- 
ly programmable RS-232C protocols. 
Adobe indicated that they and others 
would provide packages that will use 
translators or emulators to drive Tex, 
TYoff, Scribe, and other mainframe- 
style composition systems. 

What sort of performance does the 
built-in computer offer for the Laser- 
Writer? According to Smith, when it 
is combined with perfect hardware, 
the printer is capable of turning out 
a page in 6 seconds. With the Apple 
controller, "We're expecting a 10-sec- 
ond average time per page," he says. 

Anything that can be put on the 
Macintosh screen can be printed by 
the LaserWriter. When you use the 
Printer Chooser desk accessory to 
select the LaserWriter printer instead 
of the ImageWriter, the Macintosh 
calls a new printer driver. On the 
Macintosh, all screen graphics are 
based on QuickDraw routines called 
from ROM. Bud Tibbie, the Macin- 
tosh software manager, says, 'The 
LaserWriter's strategy is different than 
the ImageWriter's. Even though all the 
Macintosh's QuickDraw routines are 
in ROM, every entry point to Quick- 
Draw has a handle on it that allows 
us to trap out that call and go some- 
place else. That's what happens dur- 
ing printing to the LaserWriter driver. 
We trap out all the QuickDraw calls, 
and when that call comes along, the 
system translates it to the equivalent 
PostScript call, which ships it over 
AppleTalk to the laser printer and 
prints out." For now, the printer works 

{continued) 



132 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 329 





SPM SECURITIES. INC. 
TRMIK (EM 

1 Place orders 

2 111% or cancel open orders 

3 Uiai confirmations and Messages 

4 Send Messages to Spear 

Enter itet matter or <H>elp : 1 




1 \ 
1 1 1 1 1 1 

§ t 

1_r r " jf r ' ""' ""-" m ' **» *Y .%. -ffjL -rV "_ - J 



•5: 



liffitl 






*[*"*I ^I^i^L^ 




Trade over 
the counter 



Introducing the most complete 24-hour 
investment service on the market. 

Spear Securities has teamed up with 
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r 



We even take care of your portfolio up- 
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Get started for $35 -a-trade. 

Between now and February 28, 1985, 
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The coupon on the right will get you 
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Combination of SIPC protection and private insurance. 
See brochure for details. C<*IW^ Member i 
Available exclusively via The Source ^1 1 I NASD I 



SPEAR SECURITIES 

The Electronic Investment Center 

626 Wilshire Boulevard 
Los Angeles, CA 9001 7 

□ Send me information on how 
to trade over the counter. 

D f have a personal computer. 

□ I am currently a member of 
The Source. 

Name 

Address 



City _ 
State . 
B-2 



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J 



Spear Securities, a member of the NASD and SI PC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Investment Resources & Technology, Inc. The Source is a service mark of 
Source Telecomputing Corporation, a subsidiary of The Readers Digest Association, Inc. The Source services are offered in participation with Control Data Corporation. 



Inquiry 294 



FEBRUARY 1 985 • BYT E 133 



Picture a computer under $1000 
that can run Lotus 1-2-3. 



MMMflnH^HH 



. . ■ ■•' |, ■ 






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Inquiry 143 




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A program to take 

the tedium out of converting 

C programs to Pascal 



138 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM LOW 



BY TtD CARNEVALE 



^^A o matter how much you 
M/W prefer a particular pro- 
s' U gramming language, there 
m 9* are times when it is neces- 
sary to use a different one. I found 
myself in this situation recently after 
I had written a graphics subroutine 
library in C for the Pixeltronics high- 
resolution graphics display board that 
uses the NEC 7220 GDC (graphics dis- 
play controller) chip. Since the display 
was attractive, I decided to incor- 
porate the routines into our lab's high- 
speed data-acquisition system. 

The data-acquisition program, 
which controlled A/D (anaiog-to- 
digital) conversion and signal averag- 
ing, was compiled with Digital Re- 
search's Pascal/MT+ compiler. I chose 
this implementation of Pascal 
because it supports floating-point 
operations using the AMD (Advanced 
Micro Devices) 9511 A, a high-per- 
formance arithmetic coprocessor that 
allows faster on-line data averaging 
and scaling, lb run the A/D converter 
at top speed, special drivers were 
written in assembly language. The 
package's weak link was its subroutine 
to display data on a nonstorage 
oscilloscope, using the D/A (digital-to- 
analog) section of the converter 
board. The time required to sweep 
multiple traces across the oscil- 
loscope screen limited the maximum 
rate of data acquisition. 

It didn't seem practical to rewrite all 
of the data conversion software in C 
just to use the graphics display. Fur- 
thermore, we would have to write new 
drivers to use the AMD 951 1 A for 
floating-point calculations in C Worse 
yet, the floating-point format and 



dynamic range of the AMD 951 1 A are 
radically different from their counter- 
parts in our version of C (Software 
Toolworks C80 with optional floats 
and longs). 

For a while I considered linking the 
rel (relocatable) files produced by C80 
(which contain the graphics routines) 
to the erl (extended relocatable) files 
generated by Pascal/MT+ (which con- 
tain the data-conversion routines). 
This proved to be especially cumber- 
some for two reasons. 

First, both of these languages use 
the stack to pass parameters to sub- 
routines. Pascal/MT+ assumes that 
the subroutine will pop the param- 
eters from the stack, which has the 
side effect of restoring the stack 
pointer to its position before the sub- 
routine call. However, C80 expects the 
calling program to restore the stack 
pointer. Therefore, repeated calls 
from a Pascal program to C subrou- 
tines would make the stack grow 
larger and larger, potentially over- 
writing vital regions of memory. Cir- 
cumventing this problem requires the 
crude but effective dodge of inserting 
a special "unstack" routine after each 
C routine call, so that the stack 
pointer would be properly restored. 

The second problem is more diffi- 
cult to deal with and relates to the fact 
that Pascal lacks local static variables. 
LINKMT, the linker for Pascal/ MT + , 
issues error messages when it en- 
counters certain conditions in the 
data segment. Some of my graphics 
procedures used local static variables, 
and these modules could not be pro- 
cessed by LINKMT. 

In theory this can be overcome by 



using LIBMT to convert the Pascal erl 
files to rel files and then linking them 
to the C80 rel files with Microsoft's 
L80. But somehow I could never get 
this technique to work right. Even if 
L80 could have produced a function- 
ing mongrel, it would have been need- 
lessly bulky, since the graphics drivers 
would have their own arithmetic and 
logic routines extracted from the C 
library with much needless duplica- 
tion of similar functions provided by 
the Pascal library. Still, if it had worked 
I would have used it. 

Having failed to weld C routines to 
Pascal, I had to rewrite the graphics 
drivers in Pascal. At first this seemed 
less awful than it really was. There are 
enough similarities between these 
two descendants of ALGOL that 
major revisions are not necessary for 
most simple routines. Many of the re- 
quired changes can be done with any 
editor using global search/replace 
commands. For example, Cs block 
delimiters { and } are direct counter- 
parts of Pascal's begin and end. 

This method is fine if you only have 
to translate a few short programs, but 
it has some major problems other- 
wise. Suppose you accidentally re- 
place the C comment delimiters /* 
and */ with { and } before replacing 
the block delimiters with begin and 
end? And how about the different 
uses of = in C and Pascal? If you re- 
place each = with :=, then Cs 

{continued) 
Ted Carnevale is an assistant professor of 
neurology at the State University of New York 
at Stony Brook. He can be reached in care 
of the Neurology Dept.. SUNY Stony Brook, 
NY 11794. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 139 



C TO PASCAL 



Listing 1: The C-to-Pascal program, written for the Software Toolworks C80 compiler. 
r C to Pascal 



C form 



{ 
} 

<tab> 


&8 

II 
comment start 
comment end 

printf 
scant 

while 



— filter to replace C punctuation and certain key words with 
their Pascal equivalents. 

Pascal form 



BEGIN 

END, 

<2 blank spaces > 

< nothing > 

AND 

OR 



< > 

writeln 
readln 

WHILE 



Usage: ctp <infile >outfile 
•/ 

#define EOF -1 
#define EOS \0' 



main () 



char c, 'letter, word[1 00]; 
int wordlnth; 

letter = word; 
wordlnth = 0; 
while {(c = getchar()) != EOF) { 

if (isalpha(c)) letter[wordlnth+ +] = c; 
else { 

if (wordlnth >0) { 

letter[wordlnth] = \0'; 
wtest(word); 
wordlnth = 0; 

} 

ctest(c); 



/* word ready to check */ 

/* pass or replace it */ 
/* reset index */ 

/* process following char */ 



} 



} /* note; the last word in the file will be missed if it is immediately followed 

by EOF with no intervening nonalphanumeric character. This is not a problem for 
Pascal or C program sources, However, a general-purpose word filter would have 
to check for a nonzero wordlength after EOF is reached. */ 

wtest(word) 
char *word; 



char *swapword; 

swapword = word; 

switch (word[0]) { / 

case 'p': if (strcmp(word,"printf\0") = 

break; 
case 's'; if (strcmp{word,"scanf\0") = 

break 

if (strcmp{word,"while\0") = 

break; 
break; /* pass unchanged */ 



case w ; 



default: 



test first letter, then rest of word "7 
= 0) swapword = "writeln\0"; 

= 0) swapword = ' ' readln\0" ; 

= 0) swapword = "WHILE\0"; 



[continued) 



The C functions printf 
and scant could be 
replaced by writeln 
and readln. 



equality test == becomes : = :=, 
<= turns into <:=, and > = 
becomes > : = . 

You could step manually through 
the file, verifying all replacements one 
at a time, and this might not take too 
long if you have excellent eye-hand 
coordination. If you're really good, 
you might catch most of the errors 
before your compiler does. However, 
I wouldn't even attempt it. I was faced 
with the task of editing 27 separate 
files, totaling about 30 pages of 
drivers and test programs to convert 
from C to Pascal. After manually 
translating three of these to Pascal, I 
decided to write a "filter" that would 
do as much of the dirty work as 
possible. 

The first step in developing this C 
program, called CTP.C (see listing I), 
was identifying what substitutions 
could by made easily reasonably and 
safely by an unsupervised, i.e., non- 
interactive, program. The C functions 
printf and scant could be replaced by 
writeln and readln. Where necessary 
the In suffixes can be deleted manual- 
ly at the same time the argument lists 
are revised. 

The only other word substitution 
that I made was to capitalize WHILE. 
It is a trivial matter to change the pro- 
gram to perform case substitutions on 
other words (e.g., for or if). You will 
also want to replace switch with case 
and delete any case that appears in 
the C source. In addition to the block 
and comment delimiters, the non- 
alphanumeric characters that I de- 
cided to replace included tab (re- 
placed with two spaces, my own for- 
mat preference for Pascal), double 
quote, empty pairs of parentheses, 
logical "and" (&&), logical "or" (!!), and 
the various uses of = . 

{continued) 



140 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 










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FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 141 



C TO PASCAL 



} 

ctest(c) 


} 

swap(swapword); 




char c; 




( 


switch (c) { 




case '"': putchar('\' '); 




break; 




case '{': swap("BEGIN\0"); 




break; 




case '}': swap("END;\0"); 




break; 




case \t': swap(" \0"); 




break; 




case '&': swapif('&', '&'," AND \0"); 




break; 




case 'I': swapif('|'. IVOR 0"); 




break; 




case '(': swapif('(\ T,"\0"); /* () simply deleted */ 




break; 




case T: swapif(7\ '"'."{XO"); 




break; 




case '*': swapif('*\ V',"}\0"); 




break; 




case'!': swapifC!'. ' = ',"< >\0"); /*!«-><>*/ 




break; 




case '<*: 




case '>': putchar(c); /* <x and >x are passed unchanged */ 




c = getchar(); 




putchar(c); 




break; 




case' = ': identassign(); /*==-> = ,= ->:=*/ 




break; 




default: purchar(c); 


i 


break; 
} 


swap(s) 




char *s; 
t 




} 

swapif(fir 


while (*s! = EOS) putchar(*s+ +); 


st, second .replacement) 


char first, second, replacement; 


i 


char c; 




if ((c = getchar()) = = second) swap( replacement); 




else { 




putchar(first); 




putchar(c); 
1 


} 
identassign() 


i 


char c; 




if ((c = getcharQ)! = ' = ') { /* assignment */ 




putchar(':'); 




putchar(' = '); 

} 

putchar(c)' 


} 



The next question was how to per- 
form the substitutions. I decided the 
program should read through the file 
one character at a time, building 
words and testing them one at a time, 
while checking nonalphanumeric 
characters for any necessary replace- 
ments. For my purposes, I defined a 
word as a string of alphanumeric char- 
acters bounded by nonalphanumeric 
characters (including underline and 
numerals). This convention places 
restrictions on the labels that can be 
used in a program. For instance, 
printfl would change into writelnl. 

and new scant would become 

new readln. If you use reasonable 

prudence in choosing names, you will 
avoid such undesired side effects. 

An array of type char is used for 
temporary storage of each word. This 
array is arbitrarily much longer than 
any variable, function, or constant 
label that I am ever likely to use. 
Words are built one character at a 
time, starting with the first alpha- 
numeric character encountered. The 
appearance of a nonalphanumeric 
character signals the end of each 
word. An index variable keeps track 
of the length of the word, and a 
pointer indicates the location for the 
next character. 

When a nonalphanumeric character 
is found, the length of the word is ex- 
amined. If the word length is nonzero, 
the program branches to a string com- 
parison and conditional replacement 
routine. This routine handles each 
word in a similar fashion. It seemed 
easiest to use C80's strcmp (string 
compare) function to identify replace- 
able words. This function is not dif- 
ficult to simulate if it is lacking from 
any particular C implementation. 

Nonalphanumeric characters are 
treated in a somewhat different man- 
ner. Some, like tab or ", are simply re- 
placed directly. Others, like / or &, are 
replaced only if followed by a second 
character such as * or another &, re- 
spectively. The various = constructs 
are all handled differently. 

For the sake of convenience, 1 used 
a UNIX-like command-line specifica- 
tion for input and output filenames. 

{continued) 



142 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



- * . 




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C TO PASCAL 



Listing 2: Sample output of the CTRC program, a partial processing of the 
programs own source file. 

#define EOF - 1 
fdefine EOS \0' 

main 
BEGIN 

char c,* letter ,word[10G]; 

int wordlnth; 

letter: ■ word; 
wordlnth: = 0; 

WHILE ((c: = getchar) < > EOF) BEGIN 
if (isalpha(c)) letter[wordlnth + +]: = c; 
else BEGIN 
if (wordlnth >0) BEGIN { word ready to check } 
letter[wordlnth]: = '\0'; 
wtest(word); { pass or replace it } 
wordlnth: = 0; { reset index } 
END; 

ctest(c); { process following char } 
END; 
END; 
END; 



The typical command line reads 
CTP <INFILE.XXX >OUTFILEYYY 

Listing 1 is my current version of 
CTRC. Listing 2 is part of the file 
CTRPAS produced by using CTP to 
process itself. 

This filter program was designed to 
perform simple substitutions. It 
passes #define, #ifdef, and #include 
statements unchanged. It does not 
label functions or procedures, 
generate type definitions, reorganize 
variable declarations, or perform 
other radical alterations. Nor does it 
eliminate the need for program re- 
structuring to compensate for major 
differences between C and Pascal (the 
lack of local static variables in Pascal 
being one of the more annoying prob- 
lems). However, it does remove most 
of the error-prone aspects of building 
a Pascal program on the framework 
of a C program. ■ 



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Inquiry 15 



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Inquiry 171 



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Inquiry 75 



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by Don Stauffer 



SIMULATE A 

SERVO 

SYSTEM 



Letting the computer 
handle the math eases the designer's job 



A servo mechanism is essentially a small motor that controls a larger motor. 
A servo-control system consists of the logical instructions needed to guide 
the servo mechanism. Control systems were brought out of the laboratory 
and into practical use about the time guided missiles were developed for 
World War II. The original vacuum-tube type was big, heavy, and expen- 
sive, but integrated-circuit (IC) technology has reduced the size of control- 
system technology as well as others. Now, almost the entire servo-control 
electronics package fits into a single IC, as in present model-airplane radio- 
controlled servos. Consequently, the cost of these systems has been re- 
duced so that they are now found in automobile cruise-control systems, 
stereo turntables and tape decks, kitchen appliances, and home-workshop 
tools. 

A reduction in the size and cost of servo-control systems, however, has 
not reduced their complexity. The design of servo-control systems remains 
one of the most intricate of the electrical engineering sciences. However, 
the computer's simulation ability has simplified the designer's job. Simula- 
tion is now a common part of the servo-control system engineer's tool kit, 
and similar simulation, though not as complex, can be effected with home 
computers. 

As an example, let's design an electronic weighing scale. Figure 1 is an 
illustration of how such a scale would be arranged. A balance beam forms 
the main part of the scale, along with the weight pan on the left. On the 
right side, instead of the normal balance weights, we attach a solenoid. 
The solenoid is designed so that the pull on the solenoid armature is directly 
proportional to the current in the coil. A sensor, such as a low- [continued) 

Don Stauffer is a senior research scientist at Honeywell Systems and Research who 
went from building model airplanes from balsa wood to modeling advanced avionics systems 
on computers. He can be reached at 6741-1 51th Lane NW, Anoka, MN 55303. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 147 



SERVO SYSTEM 



friction potentiometer, forms an error 
detector that gives a voltage propor- 
tional to the angle by which the scale 
is out of balance. The servo-control 
system uses this error signal to 
change the current through the sole- 
noid to eliminate the imbalance. The 
current in the solenoid coil is now pro- 
portional to the weight in the pan, and 
a current meter is calibrated to read 
in weight units. 

Figure 2 is the type of diagram a 
designer would draw for this kind of 
feedback servo-control system. The 
circle at the left represents a summing 
junction. The output to the right of the 
junction is the sum of the inputs to the 
other two (or three) quadrants. As 
shown here, the junction indicates the 
difference between the commanded 
or desired quantity, Q c . and the actual 
quantity, Q. The servo-control com- 
puter operates on this difference and 
outputs a voltage to the actuator. The 
actuator is a physical device, usually 
a force transducer that drives the 



quantity to be controlled either up or 
down so that the actual value equals 
the desired value. At this point the 
system is balanced, and the error 
signal (or feedback) will remain at 
zero unless some perturbing force 
displaces the system or a new input 
value is commanded. 

A servo-control designer is con- 
cerned with several aspects of the sys- 
tem's behavior. First and foremost is 
stability That is, does the system in- 
deed act to reduce the error, and not, 
as servo-control systems have a habit 
of doing, actually cause the error to 
increase wildly? How soon will the 
system reach a new equilibrium? If it 
takes too long to settle down, the sys- 
tem may not be usable in practice. Is 
the amount of error that remains after 
the system reaches a new equilibrium 
sufficiently small? Ideally, you'll have 
no error but in practice you'll prob- 
ably have some and will have to 
decide if it is tolerable. 

Without simulation you have to use 



complicated differential equations to 
try to predict a mechanism's behavior. 
Computer-based simulation does the 
math for you. In addition, simulation 
lets you design more complex servos, 
whose behavior could not be pre- 
dicted easily by normal differential 
equation methods. Figure 3 charts a 
typical simulation. After setting the 
initial conditions, the program enters 
the iterative loop (input, model, out- 
put, update). It scans user or process 
input to see if conditions are to be 
changed. If the simulation is sup- 
posed to be continuous, such as the 
physical simulation we will be work- 
ing with, input is best done with a 
keyboard-monitoring routine to keep 
the program running between inputs. 
The heart of the simulation is the next 
step—the math model. In this block, 
the computer performs its mathe- 
matical operations on the equation 
that describes the system being 
simulated. Almost any system or 

{continued) 




\^J_ 




SERVO 
CONTROLLER 



ERROR 
(IMBALANCE) 

DETECTOR " v 




SOLENOID 



Figure 1: The servo system holds the balance beam level. 



INPUT 
COMMAND 




.ris 












p Q m 


?\ 


CONTROL 
COMPUTER 




ACTUATOR 




Qc 


1 


9 

i 










FEE 


DBACK 











Figure 2: A servo system operates by measuring the difference between the 
commanded and actual values of some quantity and uses a function of that difference 
to drive an error-reducing actuator. 













f START J 














INITIALIZATION 








pi 


• 














PROCESS 
INPUTS 














MATH 
MODEL 














DISPLAY 
OUTPUT 














UPDATE 
TIME 




NO 




>HED^> 
[YES 














( END ) 













Figure 3: A typical simulation-program 
flowchart. 



148 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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SERVO SYSTEM 



situation that can be mathematically 
described in a cause-and-effect rela- 
tionship can be simulated by a com- 
puter. Next, the program displays or 
prints an output. Then the time vari- 



able is incremented and, if the pro- 
gram is not terminated by some con- 
dition that exceeds its limits, the pro- 
gram repeats. 

[continued] 



Listing I: This program is written in TRS-80 level II BASIC but can be adapted 
to any of the BASIC dialects, 

10 REM SCALE SERVO CONTROLLER 

20 REM by Don Stauffer 

30 CLEAR 200 

40 REM EDIT ASSIGNMENT STATEMENTS TO ALTER CONTROL CONSTANTS 



50 PR = 
60 TH = 
70 TM - 
80 W = 
90 JS = 5 
100 D = 5 
110 K=10 
120 K1 = -0.4 
130 K2 = 
140 K3 = 
150 DT = 0.2 
160 T = 
170 ST = 



REM PRINT CONTROL VARIABLE 

REM SCALE BALANCE BEAM ANGLE 

REM BEAM ANGLE DURING LAST ITERATION 

REM INITIAL WEIGHT IN PAN 

REM BEAM MOMENT OF INERTIA 

REM DISTANCE FROM PIVOT TO WEIGHT OR SOLENOID 

REM SCALE FACTOR, SOLENOID CURRENT TO FORCE 

: REM PROPORTIONAL SERVO CONSTANT 
REM RATE SERVO CONSTANT 
REM LAG SERVO CONSTANT 
REM TIME INCREMENT 
REM INITIAL TIME 
REM STOP PARAMETER 
180 REM BEGIN SIMULATION LOOP 
190 IF PR > 1.5 GOSUB 5000 
200 REM CHECK FOR INPUT 
210 GOSUB 1000 

220 REM COMPUTE CONTROL FORCE 
230 GOSUB 2000 
240 REM COMPUTE MOTION 
250 GOSUB 3000 

260 REM DISPLAY AND PRINT OUTPUT 
270 GOSUB 4000 
280 REM UPDATE TIME 
290T = T + DT 
300 IF ST<0.5 THEN 200 
310 STOP 

1000 'CHECK FOR INPUT 
1010 IF PEEK(1 4400) =128 THEN GOTO 1010 
1020 IF PEEK(14340) = 8THEN ST=1 
1030 IF PEEK(1 4340)<> 128 THEN RETURN 
1040 PRINT@65," "; 
1050 INPUT'CHANGE WEIGHT";W 
1060 IF W<0 THEN W = 
1070 RETURN 

2000 REM COMPUTE CONTROL CURRENT 
2010 ER = TH 

2020 IF ER< -10 THEN ER= -10 ELSE IF ER>10.0 ER = 10.0 
2030 I = K2*(TH - TM)/DT + K1 *ER + K3*(ER + EM) 
2040 EM = ER 
2050 RETURN 
3000 TM=TH 
3010 J = JS + W*D[2 
3020 F = K*I 
3030 LC = F*D 
3040 LW = W*D 
3050 AA = (LC - LW)/J 
3060 WD = WD + AA*DT 
3070 TH = TH + WD*DT 



{continued) 



150 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 151 



Inquiry 



SERVO SYSTEM 



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3080 IFTH<-10THEN TH--10 ELSE IFTH>10THEN TH = 10 

3090 RETURN 

4000 CLS 

4010 PRINTACTUAL WEIGHT= ";W 

4020 PRINT@384,"TIME","ANGLE", "CURRENT", "WEIGHT" 

4030 PRINT@448.T,TH 1 I 1 F 

4040 IF PR<0.5 THEN RETURN 

4045 IF PR> 1.5 GOTO 4080 

4050 LPRINT T,W 

4060 LPRINT AA,WD,TH,F 

4070 RETURN 

4080 NF = T:NI = INT(NF): RX = NF-NI 

4090 IF (RX<DT) THEN LPRINT CHR$(51); ELSE LPRINT CHR$(54); 

4100 PP = 10*F:IF PP<2 THEN PP = 2 

4110 IF PP> 134 THEN PP = 134 

4120 IF PP = 134 THEN CH = 74 ELSE CH = 47 

4130 NS = PP-2:IF NS<0 THEN NS = 

4135 FOR NZ = 1 TO NS:LPRINT CHR$(88);:NEXT 

4140 LPRINT SP$;CHR$(CH) 

4150 RETURN 

5000 LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(81):LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(84);"12" 

5010 LPRINT CHR$(27)CHR$(35) 

5020 FOR N-1 TO 135 

5030 NF = N/10:NI = INT(NF):RX = NF-NI 

5040 IF (RX<1E-2) THEN LRPINT CHR$(49); ELSE LPRINT CHR$(53); 

5050 NEXT N 

5055 LPRINT CHR$(10) 

5060 RETURN 



The program shown in listing 1 
follows this flowchart closely. The pro- 
gram is written in TRS-80 Level II 
BASIC, but I have attempted to use as 
few nonstandard instructions as possi- 
ble. You can adapt this program to 
any of the BASIC dialects (see the text 
box "Program Changes" on page 1 53, 
for more information). Lines 50-170 
set the physical constants' values and 
give initial values to variables. The 
stop variable ST (in line 170) is used 
to terminate the program upon com- 
mand. The program must be edited 
to change the values of any of the 
constants except weight, which can be 
changed by the operator. PR is a vari- 
able printout control. PR = results 
in no hard copy, PR = 1 gives you a 
tabular list of the variables shown on 
the screen, and PR = 2 gives a graphic 
trace of the indicated weight. Line 
5000, referenced if PR > 1.5. is used 
to set up the scale of the printer and 
to print an axis. 

Line 200 is where the main loop 
begins. Line 1000 looks for a user in- 
put. If you press the W key the pro- 
gram stops and expects a new value 
for the weight on the pan. The S key 



and the space bar also have functions, 
which I'll describe later. The sub- 
routine starting on line 2000 is the 
math model of the control computer 
block in figure 2. We will be able to 
understand this block better after we 
begin to play with the servo simula- 
tion. The subroutine that begins at 
line 3000 is also part of the math 
model and represents the physics of 
our scale. It represents Newton's sec- 
ond law of motion as applied to 
rotating systems. (The text box 
"Physics Math Model" on page 153 
has more details about the mathe- 
matical model of our scale.) The force 
applied to the solenoid equals the 
current after it is multiplied by a scale 
factor (line 3020). Tbrque is equal to 
the product of a force (F) multiplied 
by a distance (D), so the torque in the 
beam is equal to the product of F 
multiplied by D (line 3030). Assume 
that the distance from the pivot to the 
weight is the same as that from the 
pivot to the solenoid, so line 3040 cal- 
culates the torque due to the weight. 
Therefore, line 3050 determines the 
angular acceleration by finding the 
net difference between the torque 



B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SERVO SYSTEM 



due to the weight and the torque due 
to the solenoid current, and then that 
net difference is divided by the mo- 
ment of inertia. Lines 3050 and 3060 
integrate the acceleration to angular 
velocity and angle. 

The subroutine starting at line 4000 
displays the output on the screen. The 
program displays elapsed time, the 
deflection angle, the solenoid current, 
and the indicated weight. For refer- 
ence, the actual weight is also dis- 
played in the upper left comer. If a 
hard copy is desired (PR equal to or 
greater than 1 ), the print routine con- 
tinues. Lines 4050-4070 output the 
table, and the graphic output is begun 
by the command at line 4080. The 
table output routine slows down ex- 
ecution considerably, so don't use it 
unless you find an interesting case. If 
you don't want a hard copy, the sub- 
routine returns to the main program. 
If you haven't set the stop variable, the 
program loops back to line 200 and 
continues. 

The subroutine starting at line 5000 
scales the characters per inch in both 
directions and draws an axis. In opera- 
tion, the graph is drawn vertically 
down the paper. (The values given are 
those needed with a C. Itoh ProWriter.) 
Other printers will require different 
values in lines 5000 and 5010. Line 
5000 puts the ProWriter in condensed 
(17 characters per inch) mode and 
sets the vertical feed to 12 lines per 
inch. You can set these values to any 
you like. Line 5010 puts the printer 
into the graphics mode. Be fore- 
warned: The program does not take 
the printer out of the graphics mode. 
You have to do it manually. 

You usually start the program with 
no weight on the pan (W = 0). Press- 
ing the W key for about one second 
stops the problem and the computer 
will prompt you for the value of 
weight you want to add. The scale will 
work well with any weight less than 10 
units. Other keys include the S key 
which will stop the program (you can 
also hit the Break key) and the space 
bar, which freezes the operation for 
as long as you hold it down. You have 
to edit the program to alter the servo- 
control constants, the physical param- 



eters of the scale, or the printout com- 
mand. I recommend that you avoid 
printing anything until you have a 
setup you really want to document. 
The printer slows down the simula- 
tion, especially when you call for 
graphics. In fact, while the computer 
is executing the subroutine that does 
the scaling (line 5000), expect a 



lengthy pause. After several seconds 
the normal screen and simulation will 
appear. 

Servo Theory 

After typing in the program with the 
values given in listing 1, go ahead and 
run it to see that it works. Don't worry 

{continued} 



Program Changes 



The BASIC I used in this program 
is Radio Shack Level II BASIC, but 
you can easily convert the program to 
other computers. I minimized com- 
mands unique to the Level II inter- 
preter. The CLEAR command in line 
30 clears for string space and is 
needed only for the graphic print op- 
tion. The keyboard-scanning routine in 
lines 1010 to 1030 checks the keyboard 
for depressed keys. Using a normal IN- 
PUT statement would stop the pro- 
gram once every iteration, while we 
want the program to continue. The 
PEEKs look at the memory area of the 
memory-mapped TRS-80 keyboard. 
The Apple should use the same tech- 
nique, although the memory locations 
will be different. Line 1010 looks for the 
space bar and freezes the program for 
as long as that key is depressed. Line 
1020 looks for the S key. Line 1030 
looks for the W key. For the Com- 



modore 64 use the GET command. 

The other main thing to watch for is 
the manner in which an output is sent 
to a line printer. If no printer is used, 
PR in line 50 will always be set to zero, 
and no changes are required. If a 
printer is used with another computer, 
however, modifications must be made. 
The TRS-80 merely uses the command 
LPRINT followed by the desired out- 
puts, as in line 4050. For Apples, 
change all LPRINTs to PRINTs, 
precede each one with a PR#1, and 
follow it with a PR#0. For the Com- 
modore 64, you must use the OPEN 
command before each output to the 
printer, followed by an OPEN 1,3 to 
return the output to the screen. 

The other area of the program you 
may need to modify contains the 
graphics commands to printers other 
than the ProWriter. These parameters 
are discussed in the main text. 



Physics Math Model 



The code in lines 3000-3090 is a 
mathematical model of the 
physics of our scale. The scale operates 
according to Newton's second law of 
motion, but it is expressed in a form 
for angular motion, which may make 
it seem a little unfamiliar. Newton's sec- 
ond law is ordinarily expressed as: 
F-MA. For rotary or angular motion, 
however, it is expressed as: AA-L/J, 
where AA is the angular acceleration 
(degrees per second squared), L is the 
net torque (difference between the 
torques in opposite direction), and J is 
the moment of inertia. Moment of in- 
ertia is the resistance to a change in 
rotation and is the rotary equivalent of 
mass. The moment of inertia is a func- 



tion of the beams structure and of the 
weight added to the pan (line 3010). 
Torque equals force times distance. For 
our scale, we assume that the distance 
between the weight and the pivot is the 
same as the distance between the pivot 
and the point where the solenoid ap- 
plies its force. Thus, line 3030 repre- 
sents the torque generated by the sole- 
noid, while 3040 represents the torque 
from the applied weight. Line 3050 cal- 
culates the angular acceleration. Line 
3060 integrates the acceleration to find 
the angular velocity; 3070 integrates 
once more to find the angle. Line 3080 
represents mechanical stops that pre- 
vent the beam from rotating more than 
10 degrees in either direction. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 153 




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©Sperry Corporation, 1984 

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 

MS DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 



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SERVO SYSTEM 



about making sense out of the simula- 
tion yet. Before we do any experi- 
ments, let's look at some elementary 
servo theory Figure 4 shows the most 



simple form of servo controller. This 
is known among servo designers as 
a proportional control system. The 
controller merely takes the error 



Qc~ 


+(&) 














Kl(Qc-G) 


ACTUATOR 


r _ CONTROLLED 


^&>r 








'q ^variable 





















Figure 4: In a proportional control system, the error between the actual and the 
commanded value is multiplied by a gain constant to drive the actuator. 















10 












8 


- 










X 
t£ 
id 

* 6 

a 

LU 

t- 
< 
u 
o 
z 
" 4 


- 










2 


WEI 
- ADD 

1 


GHT / 
ED / 

/ 


i " f 


< 




/ 




i 




2 4 


6 8 10 12 


14 


16 


18 






TIME UN SECONDS) 









Figure 5: Continuous oscillation is a common feature of a proportional control system 
with no damping. 

























*/1V^ m 


K1(Q C -Q) 








*WJ • 








i 






ACTUATOR 








AAA 










Q 




Q 




K2Q 











































Figure 6: A proportional-plus-rate system uses the output variables rate of change as 
part of the control calculation. 



signal {Qc-Q) and multiplies it by a 
constant, known as the "gain con- 
stant.'' In our example, we want the 
angle of the scale to be zero. Thus, the 
commanded value of Q (O c ) will 
always be zero, and our error is always 
equal to -Q, where O is the scale's 
actual angle The output signal to the 
actuator and, as mentioned previous- 
ly, the restoring force on the scale are 
proportional to the error. 

Now consider for a moment how 
you want your scale to act. Obvious- 
ly the weight readout should be close 
to the actual weight in the pan. There 
are other desirable features, too. 
Beam balances seem to take forever 
to settle down and show whether they 
are indeed in balance. Electronic 
scales can also exhibit such oscilla- 
tions, so we would like ours to settle 
down quickly. Additionally, if the scale 
comes to rest with the beam not level, 
there may be an inaccuracy. With 
these three criteria, let's run the pro- 
gram with the initial values from listing 
1 and see how the scale performs. 

As we start out, the scale is in 
balance and everything stays at rest 
with the scale at zero angle. Now 
press the W key until you see the 
prompt for weight. Type in a value, 
such as 5.0. This adds 5 ounces to the 
scale. The scale is now out of balance, 
and the beam swings to a negative 
angle. The control system senses this 
angular error and increases the 
solenoid current. This attracts the 
beam and slows it down. Now the 
current-generated force exceeds the 
weight, and the beam's angle moves 
back toward zero. When this happens, 
the solenoid shuts off the current and 
the cycle repeats. We have built a 
good oscillator. Our simulation will 
continue to oscillate like this forever. 
Figure 5 is a plot of a cycle of this con- 
dition. Stop the program now, as it is 
neither exciting nor instructive 
beyond this point. Pivot friction in an 
actual scale would eventually reduce 
these oscillations. However, it would 
take a long time and its effect would 
be small in a well-built scale. Conse- 
quently, I left friction out of my simula- 
tion model. Playing with the value of 
K\ will affect the period of the oscilla- 



156 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SERVO SYSTEM 



tion but won't eliminate it. 

The way the servo designer elimi- 
nates eternal oscillation is to add 
"rate damping" to the system. Figure 
6 shows a proportional-plus-rate sys- 
tem. The symbol O with a dot over it 
(pronounced "Q dot") represents O's 
rate of change over time. Again, O is 
our controlled variable, the angle of 
the scale. In calculus, this is the time 
derivative. We add rate damping to 
our system by setting K2 to some non- 



zero value. Try a value of -4 in line 
130 and run the program again. 
Figure 7 shows a typical result. Now 
we have reduced most of the oscilla- 
tion, although a small amount of ex- 
cess motion remains. The excess mo- 
tion eventually stops, but the speed 
at which it stops is sluggish. The scale 
could almost be considered practical 
now. However, in addition to the slug- 
gish response and the excess motion, 

{continued) 



10 












8 












X 

9 

i 

o 
hi 

i- 
< 

I * 












• r 










2 


WEIGHT/ 
ADDED I 


,.iiii _i_ 


i 




,i 1 




2 4 


6 8 10 


12 


M 


16 




TIME (IN SECONDS) 









Figure 7: The addition of rate~of-change feedback creates a damped oscillation. 



— <g> 



KKO c -Q) 



K2Q 



K3/Q 



ACTUATOR 



f* 



Figure 8: The addition of a quantity proportional to the integral of the controlled 
quantity reduces error when the system reaches equilibrium. 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 157 



ERG/68000 






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8 

6 

h- 

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CO 
UJ 

o 
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t- 

< 4 
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2 


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WEIGHT 
^ADDED 








2 4 6 8 10 12 
TIME {IN SECONDS) 



Figure 9: The integral partially offsets the effect of rate damping so you get quicker 
response and some overshoot, which is quickly damped out. You can't see the reduction 
of the weight beam's angular error in this plot of indicated weight versus time, but 
including the integral Q increases the scale's accuracy. 



we have another problem. As the sys- 
tem approaches equilibrium, we still 
have an angle error of about I degree 
This is not drastic, but we can do 
much better. 

Specifically, we will add yet another 
block to the system (shown in figure 
8) and create a proportional-plus-rate- 
plus-integral, or proportional-plus- 
rate-plus-lag, system. Although this is 
beginning to look like a formidable 
circuit, don't be dismayed. This is as 
complicated as it gets. We can create 
a proportional-plus-rate-plus-lag servo 
by changing K3 to a nonzero value. 
Trya-3 for K3 in line 140 and run 
the system again. We've speeded up 
the response and increased the ex- 
cess motion. But as the system damps 
out, we see that a greatly reduced 
angle is obtained. Since an increase 
in K2 reduced the excess motion 
before, let's try increasing it again, this 
time to -8. Now that's more like it. 
Although there is still some excess 
motion, it quickly stops (see figure 9). 



The reading reaches equilibrium in a 
few seconds, and the angular error is 
less than one-tenth of a degree. You 
can improve your results even more 
by further refining K2 and K3. We 
have now designed a practical servo- 
controlled scale that is stable and 
becomes quiescent with reasonable 
speed. Play around with the system. 
As with any computer simulation, you 
can't hurt anything. If you want to see 
things really go awry, try putting in a 
value for any of the three servo con- 
stants with the opposite sign. 

This simplified simulation illustrates 
much of the behavior of the typical 
servo system. You can easily modify 
the program to represent a speed- 
control servo (e.g., an automobile's 
cruise control). The professional engi- 
neer must still dabble in the realms 
of complex variables, nonlinear dif- 
ferential equations, and other forms 
of higher math, but simulations 
similar to this one are revolutionizing 
the design of servo systems. ■ 



158 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 






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162 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 103 



INTRODUCTION TO 

IMAGE 

PROCESSING 



Image 

manipulation 

reveals hidden 

information 



IMAGE PROCESSING, or I/P as it is often 
abbreviated, is a branch of computer 
graphics based on image data— the 
pieces that make up a picture. In 
essence, image processing is a special 
form of two-dimensional (and sometimes 
three-dimensional) signal processing. 
Scenes are developed from a camera-like 
sensor, either a conventional film-based _*« 
system or a scanner, and manipulated so 
that they provide more information. I'd like to show 
just how common I/P is and describe some of its fun- 
damentals. 

Image processing is a powerful suite of techniques 
for uncovering information. Some of the techniques 
are comparable to photographic darkroom processes, 
but much more is involved. The principal idea behind 
image processing is to make an image more infor- 
mative or, in communications jargon, to extract more 
signal from the noise. 

Commercial television has trouble displaying more 
than a dozen different gray levels. The human eye can 
perceive more levels of gray, but not many. If you need 
to be able to distinguish between shades of gray that 
are finer than you can see, you enter the realm where 
image processing can help. A black-and-white image- 
processing system can usually distinguish at least 32 
gray shades. 

Typically, computer systems treat images as arrays, 
or series of elements. The number of elements in an 
array determines the resolution of the image, and the 
number of bits available to any element of the array 
(or word size) determines the number of "colors" or 
gray-scale values each element can have. The smallest 
element of a picture corresponds to a single element 
of the data array This element is called a pixel, an ab- 
breviation for picture element. Popular choices for the 
number of pixels in an image are either based on 
powers of 2 (2 56 by 2 56, 512 by 512, or 1024 by 1024) 
or on hardware standards like the 
52 5-line commercial television system. ,._._<. c 

The number of bits in a given pixel JEFFREY L. &TAR 
determines the number of unique gray _— _^_» 



values or colors available. Eight-bit pixels 
provide 2 56 different gray values in black 
and white or 2 56 unique colors. Most 
larger systems have 24-bit pixels— 8 bits 
each for red, green, and blue— which 
translates into over 16 million unique 
colors. That many colors is more than 
one can display on a monitor, and cer- 
,____ tainly more than you can distinguish 
visually. 
At least three standard systems are used to describe 
color. (See reference 2 for more background on color 
theory.) The additive system works by considering the 
amount of red, green, and blue light you would have 
to add together to create a specific color Color televi- 
sion works precisely this way If you take a close look 
at a color television or video monitor screen, you'll 
see triplets of colored dots. Each triplet contains a 
dot of each of the additive primary colors, red, green, 
and blue. This triplet represents the single pixel, the 
smallest element in the picture whose color you can 
specify. Similarly, I/P systems are almost always based 
on the red-green-blue additive system. 

In contrast, when you're mixing paint, you mix the 
subtractive primary colors. The subtractive primary 
colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow. 

Finally, human visual perception is often parame- 
terized by hue, saturation, and intensity (or value). Hue 
is the simplest to understand; it is the "color" or domi- 
nant wavelength you see, for example, red versus 
green. Saturation, sometimes called purity is easy to 
think of in terms of mixing white into a pure color. 
Red and pink are the same hue, but they differ in 
saturation— red is more saturated than pink. Intensity 
(or value) is the relativetive brightness of a color. 
When the relative brightness of a color. When you 
view a red wall with the sun shining brightly on it and 
then when the light is dim, the difference in "reds" 
appears only in intensity. {continued) 

gY Dr. Jeffrey L. Star is a development engineer at 

the Remote Sensing Research Unit, Department 
of Geography, University of California, Santa 
Barbara, CA 93106. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 163 




Since all three of these systems are alter- 
native ways of describing color, you might ex- 
pect that you could freely convert (or "trans- 
form") between them, and you'd be right (see 
references 2 and 3). From here on, however, 
I'll be discussing the red-green-blue additive 
system. 



Photo la: 

Color composite 
image of southern 

California 
by NASA Landsat 
Thematic Mapper. 



Imaging in Action 

My particular area of interest is image processing for 
satellite remote sensing. Several U.S. federal agencies, in 
particular NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 
ministration) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmo- 
spheric Administration), fly satellites with imaging sensors. 

NASA's Landsat 5 is the most interesting such satellite 
now in operation. Landsat has two imaging systems: the 
Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and the Thematic Mapper 
(TM). Both are multiband imaging systems. Because of 
their fields of view and the satellite's orbital parameters, 
they cover the globe between latitudes 80 north and 80 
south about every 18 days. Ground resolution for MSS is 
approximately 80 meters (that is, each pixel represents 
an area on the ground that is 80 meters on a side). For 
TM, ground resolution is approximately 30 meters. (Data 
from these sensors is available to the public from NASA. 
Ask for The landsat Tutorial Workbook: Basics of Satellite Remote 
Sensing: see reference 6.) 

Photo 1 comes from the NASA Landsat TM, showing 
a portion of southern California at the edge of the Salton 
Sea. The different colors correspond to rock type, and the 
San Andreas and associated faults run generally parallel 
to the shore. The image in photo la is a multiband color 
composite, produced as if several cameras with different 
filters were providing distinct information on the same 
scene. The image in photo lb is pseudocolor processed 
(see explanation below). Photos 2a and 2b are from the 
Landsat MSS. 

I/P Systems and Software 

Systems for image processing range over almost all of the 
computer field— from Apples and IBM Personal Com- 
puters (PCs), through small minicomputers, to mainframe 
installations. While small PDP-Ms have been the standard 
in the past, the Motorola 68000 microprocessor and DEC 
VAX systems seem to be the emerging standards. The fol- 



lowing are a few of the commercially avail- 
able systems. 

ApplePIPS, for the Apple II with Apple 
DOS 3.3, and MicroPIPS, for the IBM PC with 
PC-DOS 2.0, are available from The Telesys 
Group Inc., Columbia, Maryland, at a cost of 
^^^^^^ $495 each. These packages come with dem- 
onstration Landsat satellite data and are an 
excellent way to learn the rudiments of image 
processing. Classification (see definition below) and other 
higher mathematical functions are included in an ad- 
vanced version of the software. 

RIPS (Remote Image Processing System, Spectral Data 
Corp., Hauppauge, New York) is a Z80, S-100 bus 8-inch 
CP/M system with a 2 56- by 240- by 1 2-bit image memory. 
The base price is under $20,000 for the complete system. 
Software packages cover a broad range of applications. 
RIPS will process satellite data that the EROS Data Center 
(Sioux Falls, South Dakota) now supplies on 8-inch floppy 
disks. Upgrades include video input and a 9-track tape 
drive. 

The IIS Model 75 (International Imaging Systems, 
Milpitas, California) and COMTAL/3M Vision One (COM- 
TAL/3M, Altadena, California) are dedicated image- 
processing systems that include display memory, a video 
processor, a parallel interface to a computer, a track ball 
and function pad, digital-to-analog (D/A) converters, and 
a comprehensive software library. A typical small system 
as a peripheral to another computer might cost $50,000, 
and upgrades include a Motorola 68000 or DEC PDP-11 
embedded microcomputer, with Winchester and 9-track 
magnetic-tape storage These systems are typically used 
at universities and research agencies. 

The only specialized hardware you must have for im- 
age processing is a display driver and a monitor, although 
when performance or image quality is important a great 
deal of specialized equipment is available. Among the 
components of display drivers are frame buffers, D/A con- 
verters, and lookup tables. 

A frame buffer is the key to any image-processing system. 
This bank of memory stores the image data. Most 
medium-size systems use several banks of 512 by 512 
elements; in I/P jargon, the rows of the frame-buffer matrix 
are the lines of the image, and the columns are the samples 
along each line. A typical choice for a color I/P system 



164 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




is to have four memory banks or channels- 
one each for red, green, and blue and a 
fourth for intermediate calculations and 
superposition of graphics and annotation. 

Frame buffers and their associated control 
circuitry can get complicated. Some systems 
give you an option to segment memory on ^^^^^^ 
the fly. For example, a given system can have 
1 28K bytes of image memory, and you could 
configure it as either 512 by 512 by 4 bits (16 colors), or 
1024 by 1024 by 1 bit (black versus white), or 2 56 by 2 56 
by 16 bits (64 kilocolors). Often, a system implements 
zoom and pan, which let you expand a smaller area in 
the image space to cover the entire display. You can ac- 
complish zoom most easily by pixel replication; for any 
original pixel the system displays a 2-pixel by 2-pixel 
square on the screen. This procedure provides a twofold 
magnification of any linear feature, and, of course, a four- 
fold reduction in the area displayed. 

A digital-to-analog converter transforms the contents of the 
image memory into a form compatible with your moni- 
tor. The number of different intensity levels that a D/A con- 
verter can output is related to the number of bits it is de- 
signed to handle; the more bits, the more distinct colors 
or gray levels it can produce. Few systems use D/A con- 
verters with more than 8 bits of resolution. As mentioned 
earlier, for a full-color system this arrangement translates 
into 8 bits on each of three channels (red, green, and blue), 
a total of 24 bits of color information per pixel, or over 
16 million unique colors. The outputs of the D/A converters 
are generally formatted to either a standard RS-170 com- 
posite video or, in higher-resolution systems, sent to the 
display via separate R, G, and B (red, green, and blue) 
cables. 

A lookup table is an important part of an imageprocessing 
system and, like other lookup tables in the computer field, 
it is a table of stored data for reference purposes. The 
lookup table performs mapping between each unique in- 
put data value and some predefined output value. Appli- 
cations include color or density mapping and calculations 
that must be performed rapidly. You could also use a 
lookup table to assign any particular value in image mem- 
ory to any arbitrarily displayed color; this method of color 
determination is pseudocolor processing (more later). You 
could also use a lookup table to change the contrast range 



Photo lb: 

Pseudocolor 

processing highlights 

specific features 

of the image. 



of a displayed image by setting up the table 
with a nonlinear transformation between in- 
put and output gray values; this adjustment 
of range can make the output intensities 
more distinct from one another or compen- 
sate for a nonlinear film emulsion or an elec- 
mi ^^^^ tronic sensor response. In the same way, you 
could use the lookup tables, for example, to 
take square roots of the image values. This 
capability is particularly valuable if you are using the data 
in the image in a mathematical model or a statistical 
classification. You can then "recycle" the output of the 
lookup table back into a memory plane, which allows you 
to save enhanced images and manipulate them further. 
Video processors are essentially array processors designed 
to work with the contents of frame buffers. They are 
dedicated computation units for performing certain rou- 
tine operations on images, such as computing the ratio 
of two colors in an image. They permit relatively small 
computers and I/P systems to work in "real time," which 
is comparable to the time it takes to refresh an image on 
the screen (typically 1/30 second for a standard interlaced 
display, such as on a color television or microcomputer). 
A frame grabber digitizes the output of a video camera 
and places the resulting image into memory. Video inputs 
are usually limited in terms of geometric accuracy and the 
number of available gray levels. 

A video film writer is designed to produce color slides and 
prints with better resolution than a standard color CRT 
(cathode-ray tube). Again, on a color monitor a red, green, 
and blue dot make up a single pixel. The monitor's ability 
to display color depends on the limits of your eye's re- 
solving power to merge the three color dots. Simply tak- 
ing a photograph of a monitor works moderately well but 
the quality is limited by the nature of the phosphor array 
(not much better than 1-millimeter resolution at best) and 
the curved screen. 

Inside a video film writer are a black-and-white, high- 
resolution flat-screen monitor and three color filters. A 
single piece of film (color slide film or instant print film) 
is exposed to the monitor three times— first through the 
red filter, then the green, and finally the blue filter. This 
way, instead of the red, green, and blue dots being at a 
different place (as on a CRT), they are superimposed for 
each and every pixel. The business computer {continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 165 



IMAGE PROCESSING 



graphics and computer-aided design/computer-aided 
manufacturing (CAD/CAM) uses for video film writers are 
numerous, with video film writers now available for under 
$4000. Some of the manufacturers include Celtic, Polaroid, 
Dunn, and Matrix. 

If you want to turn an image into an array of numbers 
and you need more resolution and accuracy (or "spatial 
detail") than you can get from a video camera, you prob- 
ably need an electromechanical scanner. The original 
image— transparency, film negative or paper print— is 
mounted on a cylindrical carrier (similar to an old Edison 
cylinder phonograph). As the cylinder rotates, a photo- 
detector scans along its axis and picks up image data. 
These scanners are generally large and expensive 
machines, but they have spatial resolution (in terms of 
pixel size) in the tens of micrometers. 

The reverse process— turning digital data into a photo- 
graph—is performed by a device called a film writer. In this 



case, the cylinder holds a piece of film, which is exposed 
to a modulated light source (sometimes based on a laser 
in some commercial instruments). Such a device is capable 
of much higher resolution output than any monitor or 
video film writer; one manufacturer's specifications report 
a 2 5-micrometer raster over a 2 50-millimeter film negative. 
Negative and positive images and transparencies can be 
produced this way with high accuracy and geometric 
fidelity. 

Image-Processing Operations 

The principal operations involved in image processing are 
relatively simple (Problems arise when you have large data 
sets. For example, the latest images from space derived 
from the Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite are from a 
piece of the earth's surface about 180 kilometers on a side 
and contain 300 megabytes of data.) A number of the key 

{continued) 




Photo 2a: Raw Landsat satellite data. 



Photo 2b: Landsat data contrast -enhanced. 




Photo 2c: Upper portion is original data, lower portion 
has been rectified to a base map. 



Photo 2d: Pseudocolor- enhanced image. 



166 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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* Price exclusive of handling and Washington State sales tax. 

Microsoft is a registered trademark and MS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 

UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories. 

** Reprinted with permission. BYTE Magazine, August '83, 




IMAGE PROCESSING 



image-manipulation functions are explained below. 

Radiometric operations manipulate the intensity of the pixels 
in an image. For example a given image may be washed 
out; all the pixel values are in a small range and they are 
all very light. One type of radiometric operation, called 
contrast stretching, takes the darkest values in the image and 
forces their value to black, forces the lightest values to 
pure white and linearly varies all the intermediate values. 
An example of contrast stretching is shown in photo 2. 
a series of images based on a test case in Sweden. Photo 
2a shows the raw Landsat satellite data. In 2b, the image 
has been contrast-stretched so that the dark areas, repre- 
senting water, show up better. 




Photo 3: A \0-nanosecond x-ray pulse generated during the 
heating of a magnetically confined argon plasma. Red indicates 
the most intense x-ray emission and blue the least. (Courtesy of 
COMTAL/3M and Sandia National laboratories.) 




Photo 4: A neck x-ray image is shown on left. On the right is 
the same image enhanced by a spatial filtering operation. 
(Courtesy of International Imaging Systems.) 



Another radiometric operation is density slicing, where you 
display only those pixel values whose intensity is in some 
specified range. This operation is often used to highlight 
or classify objects in the image that have a characteristic 
brightness or color. Photo 3 illustrates a 10-nanosecond 
x-ray pulse during the heating of a magnetically confined 
argon plasma. In this image red indicates the most intense 
x-ray emission and blue the least intense emission. The 
radial lines indicate the direction of the plasma motion 
prior to x-ray emission. 

Sometimes color coding aids in the interpretation of the 
density-sliced image: for example objects whose bright- 
ness is in a specified range are displayed in red. This pro- 
cess, known as pseudocolor processing, is shown in photos lb, 
2d, and 3. 

Spatial operations are another family of manipulations that 
fall into several categories. One such category is registra- 
tion procedures, which are used to take an image and force 
it to "overlay" another. For example, any map projection 
is a distortion of the earth's surface, and to superimpose 
an aerial photograph onto a map you need to "stretch" 
the photograph. (Imagine painting the photograph on a 
rubber sheet and then stretching the sheet until objects 
on the image overlay the same objects on the map.) Photo 
2c shows the effect of a registration procedure. The up- 
per portion is original data, and the lower portion has 
been rectified to a base map. Notice that features are both 
rotated and changed in shape; this is a typical application. 

Another category of spatial operations is filtering, a term 
used in a signal-processing context. For those who are 
mathematically minded, think of a Fourier analysis, in this 
case a two-dimensional Fourier transform. By isolating the 
high-frequency components in a scene (those that recur 
repeatedly), you can find edges, as shown in photo 4, a 
neck x-ray. The first view is the original x-ray, while the 
second has been enhanced by spatial filtering. The im- 
provement in the ability to see structure is dramatic. Other 
smoothing operations remove high-frequency noise from 
an image in the same way that a filter on your stereo can 
reduce the sound of scratches and pops on an old record. 

Spatial texture, the variation in pixel brightness in a small 
specified region, can be important in understanding an 
image. Texture is often calculated as the standard devia- 
tion of the nearest neighbors around a pixel, and this 
deviation can be displayed as an image itself. 

Feature extraction and classification, also spatial operations, 
are powerful tools for image analysis. For example, if cer- 
tain features in an image are a unique color or gray level, 
a simple statistical exercise is to "teach" the system to find 
the features. Unfortunately, feature extraction is almost 
never this easy. Pattern recognition is a complicated 
science itself and enters the realms of multivariate 
statistics, geometry, artificial intelligence and radiative 
transfer theory. The end result of feature extraction is 
similar to photo 2d, where water is represented by the 
color purple and the regions that are peppered with yellow 

[continued) 



168 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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IMAGE PROCESSING 



correspond to known ground cover. 

In the realm of multiple-image operations, another family of 
1/P manipulations, image processing can be considered 
three-dimensional; x and y are the rows and columns of 
the image, and i (the third dimension) is a spectral or time 
component. For example you can have high-altitude color 
infrared images of agricultural crops taken at different 
times through the growing season. An image of a hydrau- 
lic system from both visible and infrared scanners can help 
detect overheating in the system by interpreting the in- 
frared band as heat. In each case the data has a third 
dimension. 

Data compression can be an important feature in an image- 
analysis system. At a theoretical level, the most efficient 
representation of a scene is to describe the location and 
orientation of the highest-level object description. ("High- 
level" is used here in the same way that BASIC is described 
as a high-level programming language as compared to 
assembly language. A high-level object description is "This 
is a house," as compared to "This is a square white ob- 
ject 2 5 feet by 2 5 feet in size.") This form of representa- 
tion requires that you be able to distinguish all the ob- 
jects in the scene, which is possible in only limited cir- 
cumstances. On a more practical level, it is often possible 
to describe the image, using statistical techniques like prin- 
cipal-components analysis, or reduce the size of the data 
set with other techniques, such as run-length and dif- 
ference encoding. Data compression becomes most im- 
portant when image data must be transmitted or where 
large amounts of image data must be stored. 

Down-to-Earth Applications 

Image processing is now being used in a number of 
disciplines. Medical people use image processing to con- 
struct pseudocolor images from CAT (computer-aided 




Photo 5: PET scan images in a medical study of blood flow. 
{Courtesy of COMTAL/3M and the Positron Diagnostic 
Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center.) 



As hardware prices drop while 
capabilities improve, image processing 
will be used more. 



tomography) or PET (positron emission tomography) scan- 
ners. Photo 5 shows a series of images generated during 
a study of blood flow in a rabbit's heart. 

Art, advertising, and publishing people use pseudocolor 
and other techniques in the pursuit of more effective 
graphics. In the era of computer text editing, the idea of 
"cut and paste" is common; here, however, this approach 
includes full-color images and graphics. While straight 
graphics systems, in general, have difficulty with halftone 
illustrations and precise color balancing, an image- 
processing system can handle text, line art, and images 
in full color. 

Structural engineers use I/P to examine weld x-rays for 
imperfections. Photographers can use I/P for a multitude 
of image enhancements that are either difficult or impos- 
sible in a conventional darkroom. 

In each of these settings, people are interested in im- 
proving an image's ability to convey certain kinds of in- 
formation. As hardware prices continue to drop while 
capabilities improve, image processing will become even 
more widely used. Courses in image processing are 
already available at many universities around the coun- 
try, and in a remarkable range of subject areas; at the 
University of California, Santa Barbara, for example, I/P 
is taught in the geography department at levels ranging 
from beginning to advanced. ■ 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

I'd like to thank David Eckhardt and Earl Hajic, University of California, 
Santa Barbara, for their help preparing this article, as well as Robert Crippen 
[University of California, Santa Barbara), SATSCAN {San Francisco, Califor- 
nia), COMTAL/3M (Altadena, California), and International Imaging Sys- 
tems [Milpitas, California) for providing data and images. 

REFERENCES 

1. Andrews, H. C, and BR, Hunt. Digital Image Restoration. 
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977. 

2. Baldwin, Lee. "Color Considerations." BYTE, September 1984, 
page 227. 

3. Buchanan, M. "Digital Image Processing: Can Intensity, Hue, 
and Saturation Replace Red, Green, and Blue?" Electro-Optical 
Systems Design, March 1980. 

4. Moik, Johannes G. Digital Processing of Remotely Sensed Images, 
NASA SP-431. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, 1980. 

5. The Manual of Remote Sensing {2nd Ed.). Falls Church, VA: American 
Society of Photogrammetry, 1983. 

6. Sabins, Floyd F Remote Sensing: Principles and Interpretation. New 
York: W.H. Freeman and Co, 1978. 

7. Short, Nicholas M. The landsat Tutorial Workbook: Basics of Satellite 
Remote Sensing, NASA Reference Publication 1078. Washington, 
DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1982. 



170 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 






Potent Pascal* 



Microsoft' 8 Pascal may be the 
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capabilities even allow you to 
manipulate data at the system and 
machine level. 

It gives you single and double 

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And the standard linking inter- 
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172 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



THE EXCITEMENT IS BACK 

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BITE 



Sciences 



The Birth of a Computer 

conducted by ]ohn C. Nash 177 

A Low-Cost Data-Acquisition System 

by Kiyohisa Ohamura and 

Kamyab Aghai-Tabriz 199 

Fourier Smoothing Without the 
Fast Fourier Transform 

by Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham . 207 

Paranoia: A Floating-Point 
Benchmark 

by Richard Karpinski 223 

Modeling Mass-Action Kinetics 

by Alan Curtis 239 

Viewing Molecules 
with the Macintosh 

by Earl J. Kirkland 251 

Laboratory Interfacing 

by Lincoln E. Ford, M.D 263 

Interfacing for Data Acquisition 

by Thomas R. Clune 269 



WHEN I WAS ASKED to find articles under the umbrella of scientific com- 
puting, I realized that BYTE readers would probably best be served by ar- 
ticles focusing on the main aspects of microcomputer applications in science: 
development of tools of the trade data acquisition, data analysis and reduc- 
tion, and modeling of scientifically interesting systems or phenomena. This 
month's theme articles delve into those areas. 

In 'The Birth of a Computer" Dr. James H. Wilkinson, F. R. S., tells a fascinating 
story of the building of one of the earliest digital computers based on the 
designs of Alan TUring. Despite the 30-odd years since this work took place, 
the account is surprisingly fresh and relevant to today's use of computers in 
science. 

The arithmetic underlying calculations is often ignored by users, regardless 
of their scientific background, yet it is important to know that the basis for 
these fundamental computer "tools" is sound. Richard Karpinski discusses 
one approach to learning about the arithmetic implemented on computers, 
the program Paranoia. This work, like so many others in the realm of scien- 
tific computation, owes much to the careful and detailed analyses performed 
and persistently reported by Professor William Kahan of Berkeley. 

Data acquisition can be a difficult task involving expensive equipment. Some 
of the issues in the analog-to-digital conversion aspect of data acquisition are 
described by Dr. Lincoln Ford. For those with tight budgets, Kiyohisa Okamura 
and Kamyab Aghai-T&briz present the hardware and software design of a Com- 
modore 64-based system. Tb round out data acquisition, BYTE Technical Editor 
Tom Clune reviews the main avenues for interfacing experiments to computers. 

Once the data is in the machine, it must be processed before it can be regard- 
ed as useful information. One technique for removing noise from data is 
Fourier smoothing, discussed by Eric Aubanel and Keith Oldham. 

Having gained some understanding of a system, a scientist can attempt to 
model it— to generate or simulate the outcomes of experiments and "pictures" 
of what is going on. Earl ). Kirkland literally pictures molecules with an Apple 
Macintosh. Alan Curtis introduces the subject of modeling dynamic systems 
such as large-scale chemical or nuclear processes. 

We have tried to strike a reasonable balance between depth and breadth 
in our coverage of scientific computing. In a field as large and sophisticated 
as this, the editorial choices made are never entirely satisfying. Nonetheless, 
we think that these articles present some fascinating glimpses into a com- 
plex domain. 

—)ohn C. Nash, Contributing Editor, Scientific Computing 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 175 



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SCIENCE 



THE BIRTH OF A 
COMPUTER 



CONDUCTED BY JOHN C. NASH 



An interview with ]ames H. Wilkinson on the building 
of a computer designed by Alan Turing 



The story of the construction of the first computers is both fascinating and instructive. Under- 
standing the insights and decisions of computing's innovators may explain how the technology 
evolved to its present state and may illuminate the directions it might take in the future. 

Among computing's innovators were Alan Turing (see page 65 for a review of a Hiring 
biography) and the men he assembled to help him build a computer based on his Universal 
machine. Ikring s team included \ames H. Wilkinson, a mathematician who had studied at 
Cambridge and worked for the British government as a ballistics engineer doing numerical 
analysis of explosives problems during World War II. 

This interview was conducted for BYTE by Dr. John C. Nash and took place on July 13, 
1984, at the Ninth Householder Gatlinburg Conference held at the University of Waterloo, 
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 



BYTE: Dr. Wilkinson, how did you become 
involved with Alan Hiring and his computer? 
JHW: Shortly after the war, I dis- 
covered that a Mathematics Division 
was being set up at the National 
Physical Laboratory (NPL). I got in 
touch with E. T Goodwin, who had 
been a colleague of mine at Cam- 
bridge in the Maths Lab. He was one 
of the first to join this new division. 
He invited me to have a chat with him 
at NPL in Bushy Park, Tfeddington, and 
there I met Hiring, who I knew already 
by reputation as something of an ec- 
centric. Hiring and I had a long discus- 
sion, and I was very impressed with 
him. Presumably he must have been 
reasonably satisfied with me since he 
said if I came to NPL he would like me 
to work with him. I think that this offer 



and my friendship with Goodwin were 
the decisive factors. So in May '46. six 
and a half years after I joined the 
government service, I moved to NPL 
(as I thought then, temporarily) in- 
stead of going back to Cambridge 
University. 

Hiring had worked alone on the 
logical design of an electronic com- 
puter. When I arrived, he had pre- 
sented his plans to what you might 
call a "review committee" at NPL. This 
consisted of a small group of Fellows 
from the Royal Society. The commit- 
tee decided that Turing's ideas were 
basically sound, and they gave him a 
mandate to go ahead and recruit the 
appropriate staff. 

Up to that time everything associ- 
ated with the project had been done 



by Hiring himself. He was a man with 
an original and inventive mind. His 
design had practically nothing in com- 
mon with the group of computers 
which arose out of discussions at the 
Moore School of Electrical Engineer- 
ing at the University of Pennsylvania. 
John W. Mauchly and ). Presper Eckert 
had already successfully completed 
the construction of the first electronic 
computer, the ENIAC (this was not a 
stored-program computer), and their 
influence was at its peak. When I went 
to NPL in May 46, Hiring was work- 
ing on what he called version 5 of |his| 
computer, though I never saw any 
documents relating to versions 1 to 
4. Hiring was not a great documented 
and no doubt the earlier versions 
were buried in the rubble on his desk. 
Perhaps I should attempt to give 
some idea of the flavor of version 5, 
a typical TUringesque creation. It was 

[continued) 

Dr. \ohn C. Hash (Nash Information Services, 
1975 Bel Air Dr., Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 
0X1. Canada) is an associate professor with 
the Faculty of Administration at the Univer- 
sity of Ottawa, Canada. He is the author of 
two books on scientific computing and 
numerous journal articles. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 177 



INTERVIEW 



a serial machine using mercury delay 
lines for storage, with a pulse repeti- 
tion rate of what 1 still call a megacy- 
cle, being rather old-fashioned in such 
matters. 

BYTE: Define a megacycle, 
JHW: The basic pulse frequency was 
provided by a master clock which had 
a 1 -megacycle pulse rate. It worked in 
binary, of course. That decision was 
taken early on and was regarded as 
irrevocable. The word length was 32 
binary digits, which is rather better 
than 9 decimals. 

BYTE: They were fixed point? 
JHW: Yes. They were fixed point, but 
one of the earliest things that 1 did (at 
Turing's request) was to program a set 
of subroutines for doing floating-point 
arithmetic. These were later to be- 
come rather important in the history 
of NPL. Right from the start, Hiring 
was impressed with the importance of 
speed. It is possibly not widely known 
that at that time most people weren't. 
For instance Maurice Wilkes at Cam- 
bridge (who quite early became one 
of our principal competitors) took the 
view then that electronic computers 
were so fast that it was much more im- 
portant to get one built than to make 
special efforts to increase its speed, 
and his views were generally shared. 
Hiring took the opposite view, and 
most of the special features of his 
machine were designed to make it as 
fast as possible. There was merit in 
both views, but it was certainly true 
that the machines we were designing 
then were not nearly so fast as they 
appeared to be. However, Taring's 
obsession with speed certainly made 
for a very untidy machine. A great 
weakness of mercury delay lines is ac- 
cess time. In order to make them rea- 
sonably economic, it is necessary to 
store a number of words in each delay 
line. Clearly, if one stores consecutive 
instructions in consecutive positions 
in a delay line, one could perform 
only one instruction per major cycle, 
and indeed the early machines (other 
than ACE) that were based on mer- 
cury delays suffered from this weak- 
ness. | Editor's note: ACE— for 'automatic 
computing engine"— was the name given to 




Photo 1: English mathematician lames H. 
Wilkinson, one of the builders and program- 
mers of the early ACE computer 

Turing's machine by Mathematics Division 
head J. R. Womersley.\ 

BYTE: "Major cycle" meaning. . . ? 
JHW: "Major cycle' meaning the time 
of circulation of the main storage 
units, each of which held 32 words of 
32 binary digits and hence had a cir- 
culation time of 1024 microseconds, 
i.e., approximately a millisecond. A 
conventional design would have 
meant that the maximum speed of 
operation was one instruction per 
millisecond. 

BYTE: Because, unlike a dynamic RAM, 
where you can get at any cell with one or two 
clock cycles, this had to use a thousand clock 
cycles. 

JHW: The other two early machines to 
work— EDSAC at Cambridge (which 
Wilkes built) and SEAC at the National 
Bureau of Standards (which Samuel 
Alexander built)— did, in fact, store 
consecutive instructions in consecu- 
tive positions, so that by the time one 
instruction had been executed the 
next one had been "missed,'' and one 
had to wait a full cycle for it to 
emerge. To avoid this, Hiring stored 
consecutive instructions in such 
relative positions that the next instruc- 
tion emerged just when the previous 
one was completed. Since different in- 
structions took different times for 
their execution, consecutive instruc- 
tions were irregularly spaced in the 



store. As you can well imagine, this 
made for what one would call "dif- 
ficult" coding. I'm not sure that "dif- 
ficult" is the right word. 1 would say 
such coding was tiresome or tedious. 
Also it made the design of automatic 
programming languages more labori- 
ous, while at the same time it made 
them more desirable. However, this 
feature of the machine turned out to 
be rather important; it meant we 
could do up to 16 instructions per ma- 
jor cycle, i.e., about 64 microseconds 
per instruction. 

This practice later became known as 
"optimum coding" or "latency cod- 
ing," but Hiring never used that term. 
It was characteristic of him to see his 
machine as the basic one, all the 
others being out of step. 

BYTE: What was the ACE's total memory? 
JHW: Well, Turing envisioned a 
memory of 200 long delay lines, 
which would have given 6400 words. 

BYTE: About 24K bytes? 
JHW: Yes, and although that may 
sound rather small now, it was really 
very ambitious for that time I am sure 
Hiring would never have contem- 
plated or supported the building of 
a smaller machine. 

Shortly after I joined NPL, Hiring 
moved on to version 6 and then rapid- 
ly to 7 and 8. Those were four-address 
code machines. (Editor's note: A four- 
address machine had up to four address 
operands after an instruction, one of which 
would be to give the memory location of the 
next instruction.] 

The earlier machine, version 5, is 
hard to describe in these terms. But 
its successors performed instructions 
of the type A+ B to C and selected the 
position D of the next instruction, 
which was necessary because they 
were not in consecutive positions. 

BYTE: A complete instruction would occupy 
one word? 

JHW: Yes. but it was a more powerful 
instruction than that on a conven- 
tional one-address code machine. An- 
other striking difference in Turing's 
design was that he had a number of 
one-word delay lines and the arith- 

[continued) 



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INTERVIEW 



metic and logical operations were dis- 
tributed among them. On a conven- 
tional one-address code machine the 
use of one accumulator leads to a 
tremendous bottleneck. One is always 
taking one number out of the ac- 
cumulator to put in another. By hav- 
ing a number of one-word stores 
(delay lines), this is avoided. You see. 
this was all related to Turing's objec- 
tive of making his computer faster. 

BYTE: When a word had an instruction, it 
would also have an address in it? 
JHW: Oh. yes. 

BYTE: So it wasn't like a modern microcom- 
puter with instruction, operand, operand? 
JHW: No. 

If TUring had stayed at NPL he would 
have gone for the full-scale computer 
with 200 delay lines, and quite frank- 
ly we had neither the facilities nor the 
experience to embark on such an am- 
bitious project. It should be appre- 
ciated that the full-size computer was 
far larger than the one Wilkes was 
planning and eventually built as 
EDSAC. 

Although 1 have used the term "op- 
timum coding,'' most programs fell a 
good deal short of the optimum 
speed attainable. To achieve this 
would have been far too tedious. 
However, when it came to very impor- 
tant subroutines such as floating-point 
arithmetic, optimum speed was 
almost achieved. As I mentioned 
before, I produced the first set of 
floating-point routines, but when in 
1947 Donald Davies. Mike Woodger. 
Gerald Alway, Billy Curtis, and John 
Norton joined the team, they all 
played a part in polishing them up. 

BYTE: This was all on paper? 
JHW: Naturally; we had no working 
computer. Because of the optimum 
coding, floating-point arithmetic (and 
other important routines such as dou- 
ble-length arithmetic) was much faster 
on Turing's machines than it was on 
its competitors. The speed of floating- 
point arithmetic turned out to be very 
important for me. When we finally 
built our computer, we dusted down 
our early routines and polished them 
up further. By the standards of the 



time they were very fast indeed, and 
this enabled me to get really exten- 
sive working experience with floating- 
point computation before it was prac- 
tical elsewhere. I am sure this is why 
floating-point error analysis first made 
headway at NPL. 

Hiring continued with the logical 
design of machines, but after a while 
he began to get very dissatisfied. The 
policy had been adopted that the ac- 
tual construction of the computer 
should be undertaken by some other 
government department such as the 
Ministry of Supply, where personnel 
experienced in pulse techniques as a 
result of working on radar were avail- 
able. 

I never liked that decision, but the 
director of NPL, Sir Charles Darwin 
(great-grandson of the great Charles 
Darwin), was not a very easy man to 
argue with. Remember, 1 was quite a 
junior member of the NPL staff at that 
time. But as I saw it, there were only 
two possibilities. Either the external 
group would be successful, in which 
case, if they had any imagination at 
all, they would take control of the 
computer themselves. Alternatively, 
they might fail. It seemed to me that 
we were in a no-win situation, and 1 
couldn't understand why Hiring ac- 
cepted the proposal. This attempt to 
get the machine built outside con- 
tinued very unsuccessfully, and TUring 
got more and more morose about it. 

Finally, very belatedly, in 1947, Dar- 
win agreed to set up a very small elec- 
tronics group (not a division) at NPL. 
It was recruited mainly from people 
from other divisions of NPL, and in- 
evitably most of the recruits were far 
from being experts in electronics, so 
they were going to have to learn on 
the job. A disaster struck almost im- 
mediately. The person who was put 
in charge of the team— a Dr. Thomas- 
is often criticized, but in my view 
rather unjustifiably. Thomas was much 
more interested in industrial elec- 
tronics than in building a computer 
I do not feel that this was unreason- 
able; it was not easy to have the imag- 
ination to foresee that computers 
were to become one of the most im- 

[continued) 



180 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 208 



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INTERVIEW 



portant developments of the century. 
However, from our point of view 
Thomas's preferences were unfor- 
tunate. But worse was to come. 
Thomas and TUring had absolutely 
nothing in common and were scarce- 
ly capable of being civil to each other. 
So there we have the situation where 
the leaders of the two groups were 
completely incompatible. 

This, naturally, made TUring even 
more unhappy, and he began to talk 
seriously of leaving. Finally, he left in 
1948 and joined the group led by 
Freddy Williams and Tom Kilburn at 
Manchester. They were making rapid 
strides in the construction of a com- 
puter based on what became known 
as the "Williams-Kilburn store." Tur- 
ing's decision was, in my opinion, an 
unfortunate one. He should have 
returned to Cambridge where he still 
held a fellowship at Kings. 

I was left in charge of a team which 
consisted of six people including 
myself. We had virtually no contact 
with the electronics group, and at that 
stage Goodwin, who was in charge of 
the Desk Computing Section, had a 
long discussion with me. He said, 
"You know this enterprise looks now 
as though it's going to founder. Before 
you can be held responsible for its 
failure, would you not prefer to 
become a member of the Desk Com- 
puting Section?" 

Well, I just couldn't accept that. By 
this time I was hooked on computers, 
so I said I would sweat it out and see 
what could be done. 

Then a miracle occurred. Thomas 
left and went into industry where he 
had always belonged. The person 
who succeeded him, E M. Colebrook, 
was an old radio engineer with very 
little knowledge of pulse techniques 
but a great fund of common sense. 
When he'd been in the post about two 
weeks, he came over to see me and 
he said, "You and I appear to be 
holding a very unhealthy baby." He 
went on to invite the four senior 
members of our group (Alway, Davies, 
Woodger, and myself) to join him in 
the Electronics Section on a semiper- 
manent basis and attempt to achieve 
something together. This would be 



182 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INTERVIEW 



about May or June of 1948. Cole- 
brook was a remarkable tactician, and 
soon we were all working rather well 
together. There were one or two 
uneasy weeks, but soon the animosi- 
ty died down. E. Newman was in tech- 
nical charge of the electronics group; 
he had worked on the H2S airborne 
radar system during the war and 
already knew quite a lot about pulse 
techniques. He and I got on remark- 
ably well and that was a great help. 
In those days supplies were a prob- 
lem, but fortunately one member of 
the electronics group, W. Wilson, a 
giant of a man, knew everybody in the 
supply world and was able to solve 
this problem satisfactorily. After we 
had spent a month or two building 
bits and pieces and generally finding 
our feet, Colebrook said, "Why don't 
we get together now and try to build 
a pilot machine, the success of which 
will demonstrate to the authorities 
that we are competent and therefore 
ensure the continuation of the enter- 
prise.'' Then, in the light of success— 
we didn't hint at failure— we would go 
on and build the full-scale ACE. 

Now it so happened that we had 
done a little experimental work in 
1947 in the the Mathematics Division 
when Harry Huskey had spent a sab- 
batical year with us. At that time we 
had designed just such a miniature 
machine based on Turing's version 5. 
This enterprise had been stopped by 
Darwin when the Electronics Section 
was formed. 

Tb a large extent we resurrected this 
machine incorporating, of course, a 
substantial number of improvements. 
It was to be called the Pilot ACE and, 
effectively, it would be the smallest 
machine based on the logic of version 
5. which would demonstrate the prac- 
ticality of it. 

BYTE: How large a machine was the Pilot 
ACE? 

JHW: I suppose I was largely respon- 
sible for deciding on the size and 
scope of the machine, but any of the 
other three could by that time equal- 
ly well have done so. In order to have 
some specific objective, I decided that 

[continued) 






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FEBRUARY 1985 "BYTE 183 



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Inquiry 116 




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INTERVIEW 



it should be capable of solving fully 
automatically a set of 8 to 10 linear 
equations by Gauss elimination. This 
it would do in a matter of a second 
or two, very impressive for that time, 

BYTE: So you needed to store at least 150 
numbers and the word width was 32 bits? 
JHW: In fact we decided to have 10 
long delay lines, that is, 320 words. We 
started to design the chassis in late 
'48, some chassis being designed by 
the "mathematicians" and some by 
the "engineers." In the event, the 
mathematicians probably designed 
slightly more than half the chassis. I 
must emphasize that I am now talk- 
ing about the detailed electronic 
design, not just the logical design. We 
put our newly won knowledge of elec- 
tronics to immediate use. 

We started to send our blueprints to 
the NPL workshop towards the end of 
that year. As each chassis arrived 
from the workshop, we put it into the 
main frame. 

BYTE: Literally a main frame? 
JHW: Yes, there really was a frame. We 
decided to use a plug-in assembly 
and planned to have spares of key 
chassis. 

By the standards of the time it was 
an incredibly small machine physical- 
ly, and yet it was in many regards 
more powerful than either EDSAC or 
SEAC. Direct comparisons are not 
really possible, but Pilot ACE was sub- 
stantially faster on most problems, 
and it could solve some problems the 
other two couldn't. 

BYTE: And the clock cycle was still 1 mega- 
cycle? 

JHW: Yes, still 1 megacycle, a slightly 
tough decision. Wilkes had decided 
on 500 kilocycles. Certainly some of 
the problems we had would have 
been a lot easier at 500 kilocycles. 

BYTE: It is interesting that the Apple II is 
a Vmegacycle or X-megahertz machine, by 
comparison. [Editor's note: This refers to the 
instruction rather than clock rate.] 
JHW: Yes, that's right. 

The completed chassis would have 
started to arrive, I imagine, well 



through '49; I'm afraid progress was 
not documented. It so happened that 
the first chassis to arrive had been 
designed by Alway and myself, two of 
the mathematicians of the team, and 
naturally we put them into the main 
frame and got them working. 

Then when the next chassis arrived— 
which Alway and I had not designed— 
we assisted in its installation because 
we already knew about the earlier 
chassis. Thus, without any conscious 
decision being made, Alway and I 
became the debuggers. 

BYTE: Weren't the chassis somewhat different 
from each group? Or were these different 
components? 

JHW: Of course, the various chassis 
had entirely different functions. Thus 
several were associated with the line 
counter, several with the logical con- 
trol and then there was one chassis 
for each delay line. (The latter were, 
of course, all identical.) 

BYTE: The line counter is ... ? 
JHW: This was the section which 
counted the basic 32 pulses in a word 
time. 

BYTE: All this is now on one chip? 
JHW: Yes, of course, and much more. 
Our units were vast by today's stan- 
dards in spite of being small by the 
standards of the contemporary 
design. Pilot ACE was also unique 
among the early computers in being 
extremely mobile. The main frame 
was on wheels and when the com- 
puter was finished, we wheeled it 
back to Mathematics Division without 
affecting its performance. 

BYTE: Was it power-hungry? 
JHW: It consumed somewhat less than 
10 kilowatts, which was quite low. But 
we didn't have any forced cooling, 
and perhaps the construction was a 
little too compact for that. When we 
were assembling it, we were, of 
course, standing in front of it all day. 
It was like working in front of a 10-kilo- 
watt fire, a rather trying experience. 

BYTE: Did you have much component 
trouble? 

JHW: Not really. Our main problem 

{continued! 

FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 185 



Inquiry 226 



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was with germanium diodes, which 
fortunately we didn't use on the same 
scale as SEAC. We used them for 
some gating requirements. Because 
our machine was so compact and 
didn't have forced cooling, the diodes 
were working at a temperature which 
was much higher than specified by 
the manufacturer. 

BYTE: So they would fail? 
JHW: Yes, there were some good 
diodes and some bad diodes. The 
bad diodes would fail after perhaps 
a week in the computer. A good 
diode, on the other hand, would go 
on almost indefinitely, so bad diodes 
were eventually weeded out. 

Then came a key stage in the assem- 
bly of the computer. This was the day 
the first delay-line chassis was inte- 
grated. This was designed by 
Newman, and, as usual, he joined 
Alway and myself while it was in- 
stalled, but from then on he stayed 
with us. The three of us worked well 
together and debugged the whole of 
the rest of the machine. 

BYTE: Wfen did the first program run? 
JHW: On May the tenth, 1950. It is in- 
teresting that, unlike Wilkes, who had 
built everything he intended to have 
and then made it work, we added 
chassis by chassis as they were com- 
pleted, and as soon as it was possi- 
ble to do something (which was as 
soon as we had the control unit work- 
ing, the adder and the subtracter, the 
logical operations and one long delay 
line), we tried it. 

BYTE: How would you feed the data in? 
JHW: Oh, at that point we fed the in- 
structions in (in binary) from a set of 
32 keys. When it worked on May the 
tenth, it could perform only the sim- 
plest of programs. In fact, our first pro- 
gram achieved the following: it took 
the binary number set up on the 32 
keys, and every major cycle it added 
that number into the accumulator un- 
til it overflowed. Now, in addition to 
the 32 input keys we had a set of 32 
output lights. When an overflow took 
place, the program put on the next 
light. So successive lights would come 
on at a speed which was directly 



Inquiry 366 



186 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



INTERVIEW 



related to the size of the number on 
the switches. Now this program, ad- 
mittedly rather small had to be fed 
in one instruction at a time in binary, 
from the 32 keys. At the time the 
design of the delay lines needed im- 
proving; the amplifiers were some- 
what unstable. So we kept feeding in 
the program, and it kept being forgot- 
ten before we could complete the in- 
put. So I said to Alway, "Let's try it 
four or five more times, and if it 
doesn't work, we'll call it a day and go 
home." 

Well, we put it in about four times, 
and suddenly all the lights came on. 
This could have happened in any 
case, and it didn't guarantee the pro- 
gram was working. However, we made 
the input number smaller and the 
lights came on more slowly. 

BYTE: So the amplifiers had settled down? 
JHW: Yes. Then we doubled the 
number, and the lights came up twice 
as fast. We made the number three 
times as large and they came up three 
times as fast. On a binary machine 
that was quite convincing, so we said, 
"It must be working," and went home 
rejoicing. That program later became 
rather famous on the machine. It was 
known affectionately as "Successive 
Digits" or "Suck Digs." 

Sometime before this, Tkddy Bullard 
(later Sir Edward) had succeeded Dar- 
win, and when he visited the Elec- 
tronics Section (in late April 1950) he 
asked me how it was going. I replied 
that we should have something going 
in a week or two. Bullard was a very 
forthright chap, and he said with 
some scorn, "Come on, you can't pull 
the wool over my eyes. I've heard it's 
going very badly." (He had heard this, 
quite justifiably, via Harry Huskey.) I 
said, "You may well have heard this, 
and indeed it was true, but it's com- 
ing along nicely now, and in a week 
or two I confidently expect it to be 
working." 

Naturally, when it did work, I tried 
to get in touch with him as I had 
promised to do. I tried to phone him. 
He wasn't there. Now the machine 
wasn't really very good at that stage 

{continued) 




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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 187 



Inquiry 104 



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INTERVIEW 



and might stop working at any time. 
The director could not be traced, and 
I was pacing up and down, saying, 
'The bloody director is never here 
when you want him," when he 
stepped into the room via the win- 
dow. His opening words were, "Here's 
the bloody director. I hear it's work- 
ing." 

I showed him this program, and he 
played with it and agreed that it was 
working. Then he turned to me with 
a grin and said, "It may be working, 
but the program's somewhat less than 
epoch-making," with which we had to 
agree, but it was very heartening for 
us. 

We continued to add the chassis 
one by one, and by the end of June 
most of it was assembled. We didn't 
at that time have a multiplier, nor had 
we planned to have one, on Pilot ACE. 

BYTE: You would use successive addition? 
JHW: Yes; it was to be done by a sub- 
routine, optimum coded so that it was 
not too slow. In fact, the optimum- 
coded version was about as fast as 
the automatic multiplier on EDSAC. 
So as soon as it began to do signifi- 
cant things, Bullard began to press us 
to have an Open |House] Day and to 
demonstrate it to the world. Well, I 
was a bit anxious about that because 
it wasn't really reliable enough. The 
amplifiers on the delay lines were still 
inclined to be unstable. However, 
Bullard was a very impetuous man, 
and he finally landed us with these 
"demonstration days." 

BYTE: Wfew was that? 
JHW: It would have been November 
of 1950. By that time we could do a 
variety of significant things, but it was 
still not a very reliable machine. 

One of the troubles we had at that 
time was with the power supply— not 
our power supplies but that of the 
Central Electricity Generating Board. 
For instance, in the evening when 
everyone arrived home and switched 
on electric fires, the voltage would 
drop suddenly, and that gave us 
problems. 

BYTE: Historically there was a coal shortage 

[continued) 



188 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY I985 -BYTE 189 



INTERVIEW 



at that time? 

JHW: Yes. Such things added to our 
difficulties. We knew, too, that when 
SEAC had had its first demonstra- 
tion—a little before us— it had been a 
fiasco, even though SEAC had, in 
general, been working reasonably 
well. During the whole of the time 
allotted to the press demonstration, 



it never once worked. You will find the 
early years abound with such bad- 
luck stories. 

I must confess to having been pes- 
simistic. We decided to have two 
popular programs for the daily press. 
For the first, they would give us a six- 
figure decimal number and the com- 
puter would tell them if it were a 



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prime and if not, output a factor. 

For the second program, they would 
give us any date from the year up 
to the year 9999 and it would output 
what day of the week it was. It 
covered both the Julian and Gregorian 
calendars and dealt with all leap 
years. In all, quite an amusing little 
program. Mike Woodger produced 
that program, 

BYTE: And where did he discover the tech- 
nique? 

JHW: He worked it out for himself. 
Such programs are good fun, of 
course, but they leave one merciless- 
ly exposed to the vulgar gaze. Some- 
one puts in the current date, which is 
Wednesday, say, and the machine 
promptly says Thursday! So they're 
very much more dangerous. If you tell 
the press it's solving a partial differen- 
tial equation, you can swear blind it's 
solving a partial differential equation 
and they would be hard put to prove 
it is not. Finally, we were to have one 
serious program; this traced skew rays 
through a set of lenses. 

Well, we decided on this last pro- 
gram and announced it, only to find 
that we couldn't get the program to 
work. T\vo days before the press show 
it had still never worked, and we didn't 
know whether the program had a bug 
or whether it was due to computer 
malfunction. Then, just two days 
before the show, Alway and I acciden- 
tally found it was a minor machine 
fault which was not invoked at all in 
our other programs. 

We got all three programs working- 
then, just in time. The arrangement 
was that Bullard would entertain the 
popular press and I would give the 
demonstrations. The whole thing was 
to cover three days; one day with the 
popular press, one with the technical 
press, and a third day for VIPs includ- 
ing our competitors. Wilkes had his 
machine running in Cambridge and 
was justifiably proud of it. Williams 
and Kilburn from Manchester were 
also coming. 

BYTE: They had a machine too, didn't they? 
JHW: They had a little hookup at that 

{continued) 



190 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 32 



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FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 191 



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192 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 7 



INTERVIEW 



time but it could scarcely be called 
a computer. They hadn't built the 
Mark I by that time. Their little hook- 
up was the first anywhere ever to run 
a stored program. It worked in 1947 
and found the highest common fac- 
tor of two numbers. This was, of 
course, a great deal smaller even than 
the Pilot ACE. However, it was an im- 
pressive "first" and I well remember 
being very heartened when I saw it 
working. 

My point then, is that Open Day was 
doomed to be a failure. The plan for 
the first day was that Bullard was to 
entertain the press upstairs, while 
downstairs we made sure the com- 
puter was working. We were to receive 
a signal when Bullard was almost 
through. We did, and immediately the 
machine stopped working. We found 
out, almost at once, that it was a 
chassis associated with one of the 
delay lines. We plugged in a spare but 



unfortunately we knew that the 
amplifier, as it warmed up, would 
become unstable; the amplifier would 
then need to be retimed and in 10 
minutes all would be fine from then 
on. 

So we were expecting to run into 
trouble almost as soon as the dem- 
onstration started. Well the press ar- 
rived. They threw numbers at us and 
the computer factorized them like a 
charm. It was indefatigable! 

We moved on to the "dates" pro- 
gram. It worked as it had never 
worked before: the day of Trafalgar, 
Waterloo, King George V's birthday. 

We moved on to the ray tracing. It 
traced rays like a fiend; nothing could 
stop it. It continued in this vein from 
10 till 1 o'clock. Then the press went 
away to lunch. We immediately looked 
at the output from the delay line, that 
is, the shape of the pulse coming out. 
It was the best output we'd ever seen! 



The computer 



factorized numbers 



like a charm. 



Further press representatives came in 
the afternoon; still a faultless per- 
formance. 

The next day we had the technical 
press, and it was the same story. 
Never before had it worked for any- 
thing approaching this time period 
without a fault. The third day the VIPs 
came. Surely it would let us down 
now? Not a bit of it. Wilkes was there. 
I have always found him a very fair 
man, but naturally he was not pre- 
pared to give anything away. He didn't 
get a chance; it was perfect. It had 
already been decided that there 
would be a fourth day when it would 

[continued] 



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1 




Inquiry 182 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 193 



INTERVIEW 




Photo 2: A hand-cranked desk calculator, like the one used by Wilkinson to perform 
numerical analysis during World War II. This machine was manufactured by Brunsviga. 



be put on show for the staff of NPL. 
This was a Saturday. The computer 
had a small fault before our audience 
arrived, but we soon put this right, 
and once again it performed flawless- 
ly. The chances of such a performance 
must have been a million to one 
against. 

On Monday we came in feeling 
rather jubilant. The computer was 
down, and it took us about a week to 
get it working again! 

BYTE: Today a lot of people are coming into 
computing with no background in calculation. 
Many of the machines they're using don't have 
the properties that ACE did, with double- 
precision accumulation of inner products. Peo- 
ple have very little knowledge of this. How 
can these ideas be got across to them? 
JHW: It's a really difficult question, 
and I wouldn't claim to know the com- 
plete answer to it. Our experience 
with the Pilot ACE was really rather 
special. In order to get the most out 
of a machine with such a small store, 
user cooperation was essential on a 
scale which in many ways is not 
achieved even now. This gave one an 
intimacy with the machine; we were 
forced to look at the numbers and 
thereby achieved a deep understand- 
ing of what was going on. One can, 
of course do this with modern com- 
puters; indeed the potential for doing 
it is actually greater, but one has to 



realize what it is one should be do- 
ing and why For iterative methods we 
used acceleration techniques which 
were actually under the direct control 
of the operator. (For instance, when 
we were using the power method for 
the determination of the dominant 
eigenvector of a matrix, we could 
follow the progress of the vector on 
a cathode-ray tube screen. We had a 
cathode-ray display which showed the 
contents of any long delay line. We 
would look at the screen (which 
showed 32 components of the current 
vector), and we would see how fast it 
was converging. We would put a piece 
of paper over it, and we could say, for 
example, "It's gaining a binary digit 
every three iterations, so the ratio of 
the dominant to the subdominant 
eigenvalue must be about 2 to the 
power W: We could then set up a shift 
of origin on the input keys that would 
give much faster convergence) This 
work was commonly done by assis- 
tants who were in no sense qualified 
mathematicians, but they became 
very expert indeed. It is surprising 
how well they understood the battery 
of acceleration techniques available 
and how efficiently they used them. 
When later we went over to more 
automatic techniques, they com- 
plained we were taking the guts out 
of their work." They really loved these 
early programs. The familiarity and in- 



timacy gained with the computing 
process was fully comparable with 
that which one gets on a hand desk 
machine, where perforce you see 
every number But on ACE that 
familiarity was gained quickly and 
painlessly. This experience was in- 
valuable. Is there any way you can get 
it now? Of course there is, but one 
needs to know what is worth having 
and to have the incentive to output it. 

BYTE: I would say my own experience is that 
we are transferring large-machine" faceless" 
programs down to the personal computers, 
where in fact one can go back to the ACE 
ideas. 

JHW: Yes. I agree. The potential is 
there, and it's much greater, really, 
than it was on ACE. But in my experi- 
ence many people who do comput- 
ing are reluctant to look at numbers. 
At Stanford the general level of our 
students has been pretty high, but I 
would say their main weakness is in 
their inability to look at outputs and 
extract the meaningful information in 
them. In fact, somewhat to my sur- 
prise, they are generally less efficient 
at this than the assistants I used to 
have at NPL in the ACE days, in spite 
of having far superior mathematical 
qualifications. Most of those assis- 
tants had experience with desk com- 
puters and had learned to "look at 
numbers." The Pilot ACE forced them 
to continue with this habit. 

I certainly do not want to suggest 
that the way to acquire this habit is 
to serve an apprenticeship on hand 
desk computers, but we have yet to 
learn how to instill the relevant knowl- 
edge ■ 

FURTHER READING 
This interview examines lames H. Wilkin- 
son's role in building the computer de- 
signed by TUring. For additional informa- 
tion on this subject, see Wilkinson's "Tur- 
ing's Work at the National Physical Labora- 
tory,'' in A History of Computing in the Twen- 
tieth Century. N. Metropolis, I. Howlett, and 
G. C Rota. eds. (New York: Academic 
Press, 1980) and his articles on this topic 
in The Radio and Electronic Engineer (July 1975). 
plus a transcript of an oral history in 
Pioneers of Computing, C Evans, ed. (London: 
Science Museum, 1975). 



194 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 165 



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30001 Nat. CMOS (CD4000/74C) 

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Description 



FIBEROPTICS 

The EDU-LINK Learning Kit 

The EDU-LINK fiber optic 
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PEPPY 



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74LS00 Series 



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Description 



74LS273 
74LS640 
74LS641 
74LS645 



Part No. 



8- Bit D Type Register 
Octal Bus Transceiver (Inv.) 
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Linear 



LM387N Low Noise Dual Pre-Amp 
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Microprocessor 

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2732A 32KEPROM (21V) 

41 64N-200 64K Dynamic RAM (200ns) 

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OPTO-ISOLATOR 



Description 



4N33 



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57-30360 36 Contact Plug (Centronics) 

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Inquiry I65 



FEBRUARY 1 98 5 -BYTE 197 



The United Way volunteer gives a gift that's hard 
to measure. 

Because without his or her contribution of time, 

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GcxncH A Public Service of This Publication 



198 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SCIENCE 



A LOW-COST 
DATA-ACQUISITION 

SYSTEM 

BY KlYOHISA OKAMURA AND KAMYAB AGHAI-TABRIZ 

A compromise between cost and quality, 
this system is adequate for many research projects 



COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE data- 
acquisition systems are quite expen- 
sive. A decent system may cost as 
much as or more than the entire an- 
nual equipment budget of an engi- 
neering department at a small educa- 
tional institution like ours. Our solu- 
tion to this problem was to design 
and build our own system. A reason- 
able compromise between price and 
quality our system includes a Com- 
modore 64 computer, a video display 
a disk drive and some miscellaneous 
hardware for about $800. It has only 
8-bit data acquisition, but you can 
design a 12-bit system by using one 
and one-half I/O (input/output) ports 
(i.e., 12 bits) as the data-input pins. 
Furthermore, during breaks between 
experiments, our system can provide 
you with entertainment. Have you 
ever heard of a data-acquisition 
system you can play Pac-Man on? 

Hardware 

The circuit diagram to interface the 
real world to the Commodore 64 is 
shown in figure 1, and the corre- 
sponding hardware is shown in photo 
I. For analog-to-digital (A/D) conver- 



sion, we use an 8-bit ADC0804. To 
multiplex the multichannel analog 
input signals, we use the multiplexer 
(MUX) chip 4051. The outputs are 
connected to data lines PB0-PB7 of 
Complex Interface Adapter 2 (CIA2) 
through the Commodore 64's User 
Port CN2. The input channel selection 
is done by the three bits PBO, PB1, 
and PB2 of CIA1, which are connected 
respectively to C(MSB), B, and A(LSB) 
of the 4051. For example, channel 
is selected by CBA-000, channel 1 by 
CBA-001, and so on. This multiplexing 
arrangement can accept up to eight 
analog signals. However, our plotting 
software is limited to three channels. 
The graphic resolution decreases as 
the number of channels displayed on 

Kiyohisa Okamura, an associate professor of 
mechanical engineering and director of the 
Applied High-Tech Laboratory at North 
Dakota State University (Fargo, ND 58105), 
holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University. He is 
also a technical consultant for US-japanese 
biomedical engineering and computer busi- 
nesses. Kamyab AghaiTabriz is a graduate 
student of mechanical engineering at North 
Dakota State University. 



the screen increases. Handshaking 
between the ADC and CN2 can be 
don e through a pa ir of connections: 
WR(ADC) to PC 2 (Com modore 64) 
and INT(ADC) to FLAG(Commodore 
64). The latter is optional, and we 
don't use it in our software. 

The analog signal to be connected 
to each input terminal of the MUX 
CD4051 in figure 1 should be properly 
conditioned, which involves amplify- 
ing and biasing the signal so that the 
voltage level is between and + 5 V, 
because + 5 V is used as a voltage 
reference in the ADC The signal 
should be made to come as close as 
possible to the full range of the ADC, 
without exceeding the full-range limit, 
for maximum resolution. Therefore, 
you may need an amplifier between 
each transducer and the MUX. In our 
case, since the output of each trans- 
ducer was relatively large, we used an 
analog computer for signal condition- 
ing. For a very small signal you can 
use a differential amplifier. According 
to figure 1 , one of the two lead wires 
for the input signal is for return and 
should be grounded. 

{continued) 
FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 199 



LOW-COST DATA ACQUISITION 



The ADC converts analog input volt- 
age to 8-bit binary data with V cor- 
responding to 00000000 and + 5 V to 
111II111. The computer shows only 
the decimal equivalent on the screen, 
that is, to 2 55 for to 5 V, respec- 
tively. Any value between thes^ two 
extremes is proportionally converted. 
For example a converted data 1 (dec- 
imal unity) corresponds to an analog 
input to 0.02 V (1 x 5/2 55). Similarly, 
a data value of 37 corresponds to 
0.73 V(37 x 5/2 55), and so on. If you 
want to store or display the value of 
input directly expressed in voltage, all 
you have to do is divide the acquired 
data by 51 (2 55/5). 

Using this method of conversion to- 
gether with a manufacturer's calibra- 
tion data sheet for a transducer, we 
can determine the correlation be- 
tween the original physical quantity 
and the acquired data in the com- 
puter. Another method we often use 
is direct calibration. 

The accuracy of the A/D conversion 
depends partly upon the accuracy 
and stability of the voltage supplied 
to REF/2 (pin 9). We used the refer- 



ence voltage from the Commodore 
64s 5-V power supply. Our measure- 
ment shows that this voltage is actual- 
ly 4.98 V with a ripple component of 
less than 0,5 percent. It is quite stable 
and accurate enough for under- 
graduate experiments conducted in 
our laboratories. If you want greater 
accuracy use a more reliable voltage 
reference for pin 9. 

The serial data is output to pin M 
of CN2, which is connected to the 
coaxial cable as shown in figure 2. 
The other end of the cable is con- 
nected to the serial port of a receiv- 
ing computer either directly or 
through a line driver/receiver, depend- 
ing on the compatibility of the two 
computers' serial ports. For example, 
the Commodore 64 and TRS-80 we 
are using in our laboratories are not 
RS-232C-compatible. In the Commo- 
dore 64, binary state 1 corresponds 
to + 5 V and binary to V at pin M. 
On the other hand, at the RS-232C 
terminal of the TRS-80, binary state 1 
corresponds to V and binary to 
+ 12V. Therefore, these two com- 
puters are incompatible in both 



voltage levels and polarity. This in- 
compatibility can be resolved by line 
driver MCI 488 as shown. If the receiv- 
ing computer uses + 1 2 V and - 1 2 V 
with inverted polarity, you should con- 
nect point P to the receiving RS-232C 
With noninverted polarity use point 
Q instead. 

We use a 500-foot coaxial cable to 
connect a Commodore 64 in one 
laboratory to a TRS-80 in another 
laboratory. We haven't noticed any 
voltage drop or noise at the receiv- 
ing end. 

Software 

[Editor's note: The program for data acquisi- 
tion is available for downloading via BYTEnet 
Listings. The telephone number is (603) 
924-9820.| The main portion of the 
program uses several assembly-lan- 
guage subroutines that are loaded in 
machine-language form via BASIC 
DATA statements. When you load the 
program, the menu in photo 2 ap- 
pears. The menu and software are 
self-explanatory, so we'll only discuss 
the software briefly. When download- 
ing the program, eliminate all state- 






8 CHANNEL 
INPUT 



CONTROL 
PORT 1 
CN9 



+ 5V 



CD4051B 



J 



; ioopF 



+ 5V 



V )N+ WR 

JNTR 

CLKR DBO 

DB1 

CLKIN 

DB2 

CS ADC0804 

RD DB3 

V (N - DB4 

A6ND DBS 

DGND DB6 

DB7 
REF/2 



+ 5V 

1_ 



f5V 

J 



+ 5V 



I 



O.lfjLF 



~N~ 



X 



I SW1 







SER CUT 



F 

H 
J 
K 

L 

M 



USER 
PORT 
CN2 



»-5V 

1 



1 



O.l^F 



_FLAG2_ 
PB0 



PB6 

PB7 



Figure I: A schematic for the A/D converter for the Commodore 64 data-acquisition system. 



200 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



LOW-COST DATA ACQUISITION 



merits headed with REM except for 
line 10, since they are strictly for com- 
ment and if typed in, they occupy too 
much space in RAM (random-access 
read/write memory). 

When the main program is ex- 
ecuted, all subroutines written in 
assembly language are poked into the 
appropriate locations as sequential 
data. Therefore, you should store the 
data (listings 2, 3, 4, and 5) as sequen- 
tial files. Assign names (Iisting2, 
listing3, and so on) to these files. 
When the main program is executed, 
these programs will be poked into the 
locations shown in the first column of 
each listing. 

A data-transmission subroutine is 
part of the main program. The trans- 
mission format is 2400 bps (bits per 
second), 7 data bits, I stop bit, and 
no parity check. This part of the pro- 
gram is also self-explanatory, but you 
have to remember to throw switch 
SW1 to the +5 V position when you 
use it. The screen displays the data as 
it is being transmitted from the Com- 
modore 64. At the end of transmis- 
sion, the screen displays an instruc- 
tion: switch to ADC and press any key. 
You then throw SW1 back to the 
previous position so that the CIA is 
connected to the ADC. 

The standard sampling rates of A/D 
conversion programmed in the main 
program are 1000, 500, and 100 
samples per second; you can select 
the rate as part of the data-acquisition 
subroutine. In addition, you can set 
any sampling rate by yourself by ad- 
justing parameters qq and ww in line 
1110. This setting corresponds to the 
default value when the instruction for 
selecting the sampling rate is dis- 
played on the screen. The maximum 
rate available is 4360 samples per 
second at ww = qq = 1 . If you have 
three channels, this implies the sam- 
pling rate of 1 4 53 samples/second for 
each channel. To lower the sampling 
rate, just increase qq and/or ww. 
These parameters are used in time- 
delay loops in the assembly program 
with parameter ww in the inner loop 
and parameter qq in the outer loop. 
Delay parameter ww has a greater ef- 
fect on lowering the sampling rate 



than parameter qq does. 

To calibrate the exact sampling rate, 
we used a square wave from a crystal 
oscillator as an input. Since the fre- 



quency of the crystal oscillator is quite 
accurately known, the sampling rate 
can therefore be determined. 

{continued) 



+ 12V 



+ 12V 



J7 



SHiELDl 



C-64 

USER PORT CN2 I 





500 ft. 







-12V 



+ 12V 



TRS-80H 

PORT A 



■JR 



Figure 2: TTL (transistor-transistor logic) to RS-232C-/eve/ conversion. 




Photo I: The A/D converter. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYT E 201 




The Silver Fox Trots 
through Lotus like 1,1,3 



The Silver Fox has always run hundreds 
of programs originally written for the IBM- 
PC. Now with its new compatible video 
board and GW Basic it runs the most popular 
and powerful software in microcomputing, 
including Lotus 1,2,3, dBASE II, Multiplan, 
the PFS series, and even Flight Simulator. 
Yet you still get an incomparable combination 
of hardware and software at a price that 
in viteB comparison. 



MORE HARDWARE 



Each Silver Fox comes with an 8088 CPU, 
256K of RAM, monochrome and color video, 
and a printer port all on a single board. Plus 
you get more than twice the storage of a 
standard PC, 1.6 Megabytes on dual 5 1/4" 
floppys, and the Fox will read and write to all 
popular PC formats. 

Standard equipment also includes a better 
keyboard, and a 12" high-resolution, green 
monochrome monitor, with a full 25x80 
column display. And although the Silver Fox 
doesn't have "compatible" expansion slots 
you can add serial ports, modems, plotters, 
printers, joysticks, and 8087 co-processor, 
and/or a hard disk. 

Because the Silver Fox is born on a totally 
automated line in Japan it is simply more 
reliable than PC's that are assembled by 
hand. So we back each Silver Fox with a one 
year limited warranty, four times the industry 
standard. 



FREE SILVERWARE 



Were this not enough, each Fox comes 
with the best free software bundle in the 
business including: 
MS-DOS2.il Sketch Spell 

15 Games Mailit 

WordStar FILEBASE 

CalcStar PC File III 

Easy Writer PD Disk 



Color BASIC 
GW BASIC 
HAGEN-DOS 
Qwikdisc 
Datemate 



If you didn't think your 

$1397 

could buy you this much computer, 
give us a call at 

602-941-5856 

and we'll rush you a brochure that will 
tell you how it can. 



.lorF. 



The Silver Fox is sold exclusively by Scottsdale Systems 
Ltd., 617 N. Scottsdale Road #B, Scottsdale. AZ HM57. 
Trademarks Silver Fox. HAGEN-DOS. Qwikdisc, Hatemate. 
and Mailit: Scottsdale Systems Ltd. WordStar and CalcStar. 
Micropro International. MS-DOS. Multiplan, Microsoft 
Corporation. KILERASK. EWDP Software, Inc. dBASE II, 
AshtonTate. IBM-PC, International Business Machines 
Corporation. Ordering: Telemarketing only. Silver Fox 
price is for cash. F.O.B. Scottsdale. prices subject to change, 
product subject to limited supply Wt- accept purchase orders 
from Fortune 1000 companies and major universities with 
good credit - add 2% Visa, Mastercard add A"t. AZ residents 
add 6" Returned merchandise subject to a 20" restocking 
fee. Personal or company checks take up to ,'i weeks to clear, 
Nn OOD'a or APO's. 



LOW-COST DATA ACQUISITION 




Photo 2: The software menu for the data-acquisition system. 



The colors of screen background 
and data dots are determined by line 
1470 in listing 1. You can change these 
colors by replacing the number 22 
with another number. The number 
should be calculated as; 16 x (code 
number of dot color) + (code number 
of background color). In our example 
we used the white dots and a blue 
background. Hence the number to 
be poked in is: 16x1+6-22. You 
can find the color codes in the 
Commodore 64 reference manual. 
You can also manipulate the color of 
the border in graphic display by 
changing the second number in line 
1520. 

When one channel of data is plotted 
on the screen, each data point is 
represented by one of 200 pixels in 
the vertical direction. The resolution 
represented by the error resulting 
from bit mapping is 0.5 percent. With 
three channels, the software divides 
the vertical axis into three sections: 
66 (top), 67 (middle), and 67 (bottom) 
pixels. Hence, the resolution of each 
channel is 1.5 percent. As the number 
of channels increases, the resolution 
decreases. 

The program stores data sequential- 
ly in RAM. In case of multiple chan- 



nels (e.g., displacement x for channel 
0, velocity v for channel 1, and ac- 
celeration a for channel 2) the data is 
stored in the following order: x(l), v(l), 

a(\), 42), v(2), 42), x(3) where x(l) 

and x(2) are the first and the second 
bytes of data for x, and so on. They 
are stored sequentially in RAM with 
the starting address of 32769. The 
number of data points for each chan- 
nel is 320 by default but can be 
changed. Since there are 320 pixels 
in the horizontal direction of the 
screen, 320 data points per channel 
is the maximum number of data 
points that can be displayed at one 
time. 

Conclusion 

We've found this system perfect for 
student use and adequate for some 
types of research. Though the system 
has many limitations, it is inexpensive 
and, above all. it's better than no sys- 
tem at all. ■ 



We would like to express our apprecia- 
tion for the help Mr. William Welscher, a 
graduate student of agricultural engineer- 
ing at North Dakota State University, gave 
us during the preparation of the manu- 
script of this article. 



202 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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a New DBMS Technology 

INFORMA is what NETWORKING is all about: 
INTERACTIVE REAL-TIME DATASHARING 



The experts say . . . 

Corvus Systems, Inc. 

"INFORMA is one of the finest multi-user Database 
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Sid Arora, Third Party Marketing Manager 



TcleVidco Systems, Inc. 



Mark Calki 



irketim* Mai 



Novell 

"Many of our Netware end users have found INFORMA 
be a very powerful and versatile Database Management 
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Rob Walton, Manager of Independent Software 



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Listed below are just a few of the over 20,000 products available 
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The nation's largest corporations depend on 

PC NETWORK! 

On our corporate roster are some of the nation's largest 
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ITT 

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M ultimate 

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You can validate your membership number and, if you 
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S 



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YES! Please enroll me as a member in the PC NETWORK " and rush my 
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I am under no obligation to buy anything. My complete satisfaction is 
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Basic Membership 

□ One-year membership for $8 
Z Two-year membership for 

$15(SAVE$1) 
Z Business Software Rental 
Library for $25 add! per 
year— with 14 day rentals 

□ Games Software Rental 
Library for $1 add 'I per year 



Special V.I. P. Membership* 

One-year membership for $15 
; : Two-year membership for $25 
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Copyright © 1984, PC NETWORK, INC, 

204 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



(Please add Si shipping and handling 



Bluebush Chess (four Toughest Opponent) 

EHlMChip Millionaire-Oil Baron or Tycoon 

Broderbund Lode Runner 

CBS 3z-e^-Bndge Made Easy 

CBS Mastering 0wSA7 

Epyx Temple of Apshai 

Infocom fork * or Witness 

Infocom _ ; s :: 

Microsoft Fhghi Simulator 

Mouse Systems P C Paint- Tom your 

PC mto A Color Macintosh < 
Orion JB/ro (OBert Look Alike | 
Scarborough Mastertype 



S 34.00* 
34.00* 
19.75* 
48.00- 
81.00- 
21.97* 
21,50* 
27.00" 
27.00* 
59.95* 



for each title ordered from below.) 

Wholesale 
Screenplay Asylum (works with mono card too) $ 1 5.50* 

Sierra On-line Frogger 21 .00* 

Sierra On-LInt Crossfire 18.00* 

Sublogic Night Mission Pinball 24.00* 

Spinnaker Alphabet Zoo 1 7.00* 

Spinnaker Delta Drawing 29. 00* 

Spinnaker -aceMaker 20.00* 

Spinnaker Hay Diddle Diddle 1 7,00" 

Spinnaker KmderComp 1 7.00* 

Spinnaker Rhymes & Riddles 1 7.00* 

Spinnaker::' ".': 20.00* 

Spinnaker Most Amazing Thing 23.00* 

Virtual Combinatics Micro Cookbook 21 .00* 



(Please add S2; 
ATI How to use Multimate 
ATI How to use Microsoft Word 
ATI How to use Lotus 1-2-3 



Ashton-Tate Friday' 
Borland Side Kick (Protected) 
Central Point Copy It PC 
• Conceptual Instruments Desk Organizer 
Digital Research IP M-86 



BUSINESS S 

) shipping i 
t 42.1 



Digital Research 
Digital Research 
Digital Research 
Funk Software 

Harvard ■• - , 
Howardsott Ta 



t Logo 
HJI Compiler 

Zoncurrent CP-M — Windows 
leways 

'roiect Manage' 
'eparer 1985 



Human Edge The Management Edge 
Human Edge The Sales Edge 
Human Edge '.' j Prober 
Lattice C Compiler 
> Lotos Development 



42.00* 
327.50- 
158.00- 
33.95* 
23.00' 
157.00* 
33.00* 
57.00* 
399.00* 
90.0C 
36.00' 
215.00* 



270.00' 



_ for each title order from below.) 
Lotus Development Symphony 
MIcroRim RBase 4000 

C Compiler 

Word with Mouse — Latest Version 

Multiplan 
Monogram Dollars & Sense 

Oasis The Word Plus 

Open Systems P'O Sales AJR INV G/I AlP Team Mgr 

Real World GIL AiP A>R PR or OE'INV 

Rosesoft Prokey Version 3 

Ryan McFerland HM COBOL (Dev System) 

Ssmna Sa mna III Word Processor 

Satelite Software WordPerfect 

Softcreft ^ancy Fonts 

Softstyle SET-FX 

Software Publishing PES File 

Software Publishing PES Report 

Software Publishing PFS w- re 

Software Publishing PFS Graph 

TCS r cra- Ledger 

Verbatim Des* Drive Analyzer 



CALL 
$230 00- 
275.00* 
255.00* 
105.00* 

CALL 

90.00* 
370.00* Si 
387.50* 
74.00* 
570.00* 
325.00" 
225.00' 
125.00* 
35.00* 
72.00* 
84.00* 
72.00* 
72.00* 
440.00' 
25,00* 



COMPLETE SYSTEM: 



Columbia Desktop & Portable Systems 
Compaq All Models 
Eagle Desktop PC and Spirit Portables 
- IBM ! 



HARDWARE 

(Please add shipping and handling charges found In Italics next to price.) 
•E SYSTEM™ 



CALL 



IBM PC A T Alt Configs CALL 

► Say no MBC 550 -Lowest Cost Compatible 620.00* ( 13 39; 

Texas Instrument* Professional CALL 

DISK DRIVES & CONTROLLERS 

r*> Cogito 

►■ MMIT 10MB Low Power Winchester 

Mounts Like Half Height Drive 
Maxtor 140MB External Auto Booting 

Drive with Controller for PC 
Maxtor I *0MB External Auto Booting 

Dnve tor AT 
Maynard Floppy Disk Controller 
Maynard WS- 1 WMB Internal Hard Disk 

with Sandstar Multi Function Card 
Maynard WS-2 same as WS- 1 but with 

Sandstar Floppy Controller (uses 1 slot) 
Maynard Floppy Controller/Serial Port 
r*> Panasonic Hafl Height DSDD Drive Pair 



CARDS 

► Apparat 256K Memory Board with 64 K $ 81.00* 

*** Apparat Combo // wiser par game/ 115.00* 

ctocklstwr 

Apparat AT Ram Expansion card 136.00* 

^T 229 00" 

AST MegaPlus II with 64K 229.00* 

AST HO Plus II 105.00* 

AST Advantage for A l CALL 

205 00- 



Improved Ouadboard wiOK 
Captain Multifunction Card OK 



(2 50) 
(2.50) 



S 625.00- 

665.00* tU 36} 



4,900.00* , J 06 00; «. 
4,600.00* {' 06 00, t 



92.00* (2 50) 
770.00* (18 15) 



PRINTERS 

5025 (NEW) 25CPSLQ 
wi2K Butter 
C. Itoh F10/40 Starwrtter 40 CPS LQ 
Cfta* Prowmer 8510 AP 
Comrex CR420 420 CPS DP 10 Printer 

From the Epson Organization 
Epson RX-80 
• Epson FX-80 

> Epson fx- 100* 
Epson LQ1SO0 

Epson IBM-to-EPSON Parallel Cable 
NEC 2030 20CPS L O Parallel 

► NEC 



$ 525.00* (10 48) 

875.00* 

285.00* 
1,533.00* 



220,00* 
370.00* 
525.00* 
CALL 
21.00* 



**• Tando-. 

Tallgrass 20MB External Hard Disk 

Jitth Tape Backup 
Teac FD 55-8 Halt Height DSDD Drive Pair 
MEMORY CHIPS 
All chips guaranteed tor lite 

> 64K Memory Upgrade Kits 
*»> 64K Dynamic Ram Chips 
**• 256K Dynamic Ram Chips 

► 128K AT Mother Bo3rd Chips 



145.00* (2 50) 
225.00* (5 40) 

20000- 



me 



3530 33CPS LO Parallel 



140.00- 
2.150.00* (46 44) 



26.9V 
2.99* 
22.00* 
1600* 



NEC 8850 55CPS 1 New Model 
IBM Version 
p- Okidata 
f" Okidata . '. > 

► Okidata 
*#• Okidata 

Okidata IBM-to-Okidata Parallel Cable 
Qume Spnnt i , 40 40CPS Letter Quality 
Qume Sprint 11:90 90CPS Letter Quality 

New > Fastest Daisywheef Out' 
Qume IBM Cable and interlace (required) 
*** Star Micronics 

»» Star Micronics 

► Star Micronics 



1.185.00* 

1.650.00* 

620.00* 
350.00* 
550.00" 

1.640.00* 
20.75* 

1.155.00 



72.00- 

325.00* 
300 00- 



(18 90) 
(6 16) 
(33 12) 

(4 75) 
(7 99) 
(1134) 

1100) 
O3 50) 

(31 54) 

(35 64) 



MODEMS 
Anchor Mark Kit LOWEST PRICE 1200BPS $ 230.00* 

HAYES COMPATIBLE EXTERNAL MODEM' 
Hayes Smartmodem 300 1 80.00* 

Hayes 

Rixon R2 12 A Stand Alone 1200PBS 335.00* 

U.S. Robottea Password (Compact 290.00* 

1 200BPS External) 

MONITORS 
Amdek Video 300G Composite Green S 1 10.00* 
Amdek Video 300A Curnpusitv Amber 120.00" 

Amdek Video 3 1 OA IBM Type Amber 130.00* 

Amdek Cotor 300 (NEW) Composite 21 5.00* 

Amdek Color 500 (NEW) 320.00" 

CompositeRGBlVCR 
Amdek Cotor 600 (NEW ') High Res RGB 
Amdek Coior 700 (NE W >i Ultra High Res 
Amdek Color 7 10 (NEW) 700 wNon 

Glare Long Phosphor 
Princeton -> ■ .:• V 
Princeton '.MX- 12 tGB Mono 
Princeton SR-12 Ultra H,gh Res RGB 



i UK) I 
(3.00) 

(3 00) 
,.JMi 
ifj^f. 



395.00* (8.531 
455.00* (9 83) 
485.00* 



^ * 855 DP LQw Tractor 716.00* f*550j 

■ P-i340 80CoiVersfono/P-I35* 096.00* H 5 03; 

m P- 1 35 11601 1 00 CPS DrafULO 1 .200.00* (25 92) 

LQ Printer 

VIDEO CARDS 

Hercules Color Card w Parallel Port % 1 1&9 t' f3 20j 

- Paradise '. 25SO0' 

Persyst Bob Card Ultra High Pes Coior 365.00* (2 50) 

Card with Mono Quality Text m Color 

STB Graphix Plus II NEW 295.00* (2 50) 
(simultaneous Mono Graphics & Color) 

ACCESSORIES AND SUPPLIES 

► Brand Name DSDD Diskettes 5 16.00* (1 00 



36.00* 



CALL 
CALL 



Taxan 420 Super High Res RGB Monitor 380.00* l8 2i) 

Taxan 440 Highest Res RGB ( 720x400) 525.00* (1134) 

Currently Available Works With Persyst Bob Cara 
Zen ith Z VM- 1 23 Green High Res 76.00* (2 50) 

Consumer Reoorts Rated Best Buy ') 



PC Network Replacement 130 Watt IBM-PC 165.00* (3 56) 

Power Supply — Gives your PC (Old or New) the same 
capacity js an x r Good for add m tape drives (without need 
tor a piggyback unit) and large capacity disk drives 

SMA PC Documate Keyboard Templates for 9.99* | ? 00/ 
Lotus DBASE Multimate and others (Each) 

WP Printer Paper • iO Sheets 17.00* iWOO) 

Microfme Perfs (invisible when torn) 



■PC NETWORK Members pay just 8*. above ihe wholesale 

price, plus shipping 

Minimum shipping S2 50 per cyder 



fRENT BEFORE YOU BUY— Members are eligible to join The NETWORK s Business and Game Software 
Rental Libraries and evaluate products for a full 14 (Regular) or 28 (VIP) days to see if tt meets your 
needs And The NETWORK s rental charges are far less than other software rental services— JUST 20% 
OF THE MEMBER WHOLESALE PRICE 



Hardware Dnces hiahhted bv 



reflect recent major price reductions 



COMPLETE 



PC SYSTEMS 




NETWORK 



IBM PC STARTER SYSTEM 

IBM PC W/64K (256K capacity) $1 ,620.50* (35.00, 

Floppy Drive Controller 

1 Double Sided Double Density 320/360 Disk Drive 

Hercules Color Card w/Parallel Port 

Zenith ZVM-123 Display Monitor 

The NETWORK has the perfect starter system for you! The combination of a 
double sided drive, color card and printer part allows you to run most any 
program and grow without need for replacing any component you buy now. 

IBM PC BASE SYSTEM 

IBM PC W/256K $1 ,575.73* oa.w) 



2 Double Sided Double Density 320/360K Disk Drives 
The Base System is your lowest cost starting point for configuring the exact 
system of your choice. Combine it with any of the monitors, video cards, 
multifunction cards and accessories listed in this ad, and prove the Network 
can't be beat as your system source. 

IBM PC PROFESSIONAL 

HARD DISK SYSTEM (XT) $2,000.73* «u 

IBM PC W/256K 

Floppy Drive Controller 

1 Double Sided Double Density 320/360K Disk < 
w/Half Height Disk Subsystem. 

Half Height 10MB Drive Allows Room 
for Addition of Tape Backup in PC! 

1 Vp times faster than XT 

Automatic Hard Disk Boot Feature. 
This system increases productivity in any business or prof~~' 
The 1 0Mb hard disk eliminates cumbersome floppy disk c. .«* 
operations and dramatically speeds program execution time. The NETWOl .. 
buying power provides you with better than XT performance at a price lower 
than you'd expect to pay for a standard PC 

*PC Network Members pay just 8% above this wholesale price plus shipping. 
These prices have been prepared in December, 1984 and may have been 
changed with new product announcements. Calf for latest prices. 



r- LATEST ISSUE FEATURES! - 

►64K MEMORY EXPANSION KITS $ 26.91* 

Set of 9 chips Guaranteed for Life. 

►LOTUS 1-2-3 269.00 

New Best Price! 

►COGITO 10MB INTERNAL 
HARD DISK 625.00 

Low Power Automatic Boot 

►PAN ASONIC SHUG ART ...... per pair 225.00 

Va Height DSDD Disk Drives with Mounting Kit 

►STAR MICRONICS GEMINI 10X ... 225.00* 

120 CPS Epson IBM Graphics Compatible w/Tractor 
TANDON TM 100-2 DRIVES 140.00* 

ORCHID BLOSSOM/64K installed 205.00* 

New Price! Full Six-Pack Features 
with networking capability! 

AMDEK MONITORS 

V300G Composite Green 11 0.00* 

V300A Composite Amber 1 20.00* 

V310A IBM Amber 1 30.00* 

HERCULES COLOR CARD 

w/Printer Port 1 48.00* 

HAYES 1200B with new Smartcom II 

VT100 Emulator 366.90* 

NEC SPIN WRITER 2050 625.00* 

20 CPS-Letter Quality Printer 

BRAND NAME DISKETTES 16.00* 

DS/DD Box of 10 Guaranteed for Life Not Generic 
'NETWORK members pay just 8% above these wholesale prices plus shipping 



CALL TOLL FREE 1 -800-621 -S-A-V-E (m^M.) 

» only » 

In Illinois call (312) 280-0002 validation code B325 



.110.00* 
120.00* 
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148.00* 

366.90* 
. . 625.00* 

... 16.00* 



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206 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SCIENCE 



FOURIER 
SMOOTHING 

WITHOUT THE 
FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM 



by Eric E. Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham 

An in-depth look at using the Fourier transform 
to remove noise from your data 



IN THE SCIENTIFIC AND BUSINESS communities, gather- 
ing and analyzing data are very important activities. Data 
is often collected as a set of values of some variable (e.g., 
sales in business or current in electrochemistry) against 
some independent variable most often time, at evenly 
spaced intervals. The data is then analyzed for the 
presence of significant trends. Sometimes these trends are 
difficult to discern because of the presence of noise or 
other short-duration perturbations in the data. You can 
attenuate the noise either by performing replicate ex- 
periments and signal averaging or by smoothing the data. 
The second approach is probably the less satisfactory of 
the two; it is commonly adopted, however, because the 
alternatives are more costly or time-consuming. 

The three most common methods for smoothing data 
are moving-average, least-squares, and Fourier transfor- 
mation. In the moving-average method, each data point 
is replaced by the average of itself and n neighboring 
points on either side of it. The advantage of this method 
is that it is very easy to program. The disadvantages in- 
clude: the first and last n points are not smoothed to the 
same degree as the rest of the data set because they don't 
have n neighbors on each side of them; you must sample 
at a rate much faster than the fastest transient that you 
wish to study; and the method flattens the signal more 
than other smoothing methods. 

The least-squares method identifies the line of the order 
you specify that minimizes the sum of the squares of 
distances between the data points and the calculated line. 
The advantages of this method are that it will permit you 



to easily generate statistical information on the goodness 
of fit, and it does not require that the data be collected 
at regular intervals. The disadvantages of the method are 
that it assumes that you know the basic form of the equa- 
tion that the data satisfies, and the method is dispropor- 
tionately biased by one or two very bad data points 
because it will twist the line of fit to spread the error over 
the entire data set. 

Fourier transformation and inversion is probably the best 
method, since it lends itself naturally to identifying and 
eliminating noise. The reason for this is that noise is usual- 
ly present at high frequencies, whereas the signal proper 
is usually at low frequencies. Fourier transformation pro- 
duces the frequency spectrum. By eliminating the high- 
frequency portion of the spectrum and performing an in- 
verse Fourier transform, you can obtain the original data 
without much of the noise— the "smoothed" data. The 
primary disadvantage of this method is that the data 
points must be collected at regular time intervals. 

There are several reasons why Fourier smoothing is not 
practiced as often as other methods. Descriptions of 
Fourier transformation are often couched in unfamiliar 
jargon, though a few authors have succeeded in explain- 
ing Fourier transformation theory in simpler terms (see 

[continued) 
Eric E. Aubanel a fourth-year student at Trent University, is interested 
in applications of mathematics to chemistry. Keith B. Oldham, a pro- 
fessor of chemistry at Trent University, has taught and researched in 
England, California, Australia, and Canada. Both authors can be 
reached at Trent University, Peterborough. Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 207 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



references). A second reason is the common misconcep- 
tion that Fourier transformation and inversion are massive 
number-crunching operations that require large computers 
and cannot be implemented on the small personal com- 
puters that people are increasingly using for data collec- 
tion and processing. Further, the success of the "fast 
Fourier transform" has spawned the belief that it is the 
only practical algorithm for transformation and inversion. 
Before discussing the principles and operation of our 
BASIC subroutine for Fourier smoothing, let's look at the 
discrete Fourier transform, the removal of high frequen- 
cies, and the features of the fast Fourier transform. Our 
program does not execute fast Fourier transformation, 
though it does incorporate some of the same features. 
It is not especially fast when executed in a high-level pro- 
gramming language on a microcomputer, but it can achieve 
excellent smoothing in an acceptable length of time. 

Discrete Fourier Transformation 

A good explanation of the continuous and discrete trans- 
formations can be found in the article by Stanley and 
Peterson in the December 1978 issue of BYTE (reference 
1). We will outline only some of the important features 
of the discrete Fourier transform. 
Performing a discrete Fourier transform on a sequence 



of real valued data x , x, 
real valued transforms: 



.x^,, produces two sets of 



(1) 

* ft - ^- E x /C os 

(2) 

h = 



N 



,-n 



Xj sin 



{ N ) 



k = 0,1 A/-! 



k = 0,1, 



,/V- 



To regenerate the real valued data from the transforms, 
the following operation is performed; 



l 


f* 






1 


• 


• 






< 






i • • • te u 


) 


E 





Figure I: Wfefi the digital filter function is incorporated into 
the FT algorithm, it eliminates all frequencies corresponding to 
k £ E from the discrete Fourier transform spectrum. Frequencies 
corresponding to k < E are gradually attenuated. 



(3) 



x i - 



n-\ / 2irk\ 

L R k cos\ N 






) - Ife sin ( N J 



I = 0,1, 



,A/-1 



The operation above is called Fourier inversion. 

The information content of the original data is trans- 
ferred, on Fourier transformation, into about the first half 
of the Rfc, lfc numbers, i.e., those having <; k < ^f 1 
(if N is odd; < k ^ f if N is even). The second half 
merely duplicates the first in magnitude: R N _ k = R k , I N ^ k 
= -I k (see Stanley and Peterson for a good illustration 
of this). 

Removing High Frequencies 

The procedure for removing high frequencies can be rep- 
resented as a multiplication, 

(4) 

R k - fk R k'. l k "* k l k 

by a function f k (the so-called digital filter function). The 
simplest filter function is a rectangle which would cut off 
the transforms for k > E. Such a sudden cutoff can lead 
to a false accentuation of frequencies corresponding to 
transform points in the vicinity of E. To avoid this you can 
use a quadratic filter function, which results in a gradual 
attenuation (see figure 1). The filter function we have in- 
corporated into our algorithm is 



(5) 
fk- 







ft 2 



- 1. 2, 3. 
= £, £+1, 



£-1 



The smaller the value chosen for the integer £, the more 
denuded of high frequencies the subsequent invert will 
be: the closer £ is to ^f 1 (or to f if N is even), the less 
affected the regenerated signal will be. 

Because there is no purpose in calculating those values 
of R k and l k that duplicate others or that will be replaced 
by zeros, the equations for Fourier transformation and in- 
version can be abbreviated to the following equations: 



(6) 

*o 
(7) 

K = 1,2, 



1 A/- I 

7T 5 *i 



N 



1 /V-l 

+ — E 
N H 

..£-1 



Xj cos 



\ N J 



[continued) 



208 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985- 



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FOURIER SMOOTHING 



(8) 



-1 

N 

= 1,2.. 



X; sin 



H 
. ,£-1 



/27r/fe\ 

V w J 



(9) 



*n = 



(10) 



% 



R + 2 



£ ft*k 



xi = R + 2 L f k R k cos (2lM\ -f k l k sm (ll® 



(±im -f k i k sm aim 



/- 1. 2. 



,/V- 



where x ; is the high-frequency-stripped analog of xl Note 
that /? is now expressed separately from Rfc as well as 
x from x jt and that / = because sin = 0. The factor 
of two in equations 9 and 10 is present as a result of 
restricting E to be less than $ and by taking advantage of 
the symmetries [R N _ k = R k , I N _ k = -I k ) already noted. 

Though we used the word "abbreviated" to describe 
equations 6 through 10, their implementation still requires 
a lot of computation. Approximately 20NE multiplications 
or divisions and 4/VE cosine or sine evaluations are 
needed to implement these equations straightforwardly. 
For example, if A/=200 and £=20, about 16,000 
trigonometric functions are needed, along with 80,000 
multiplications. Some microcomputers take as long as 0.2 
second to calculate a single trigonometric function and 
would spend almost an hour on this aspect of a Fourier 
program alone. 

Fast Fourier Transforms 

To meet the problem of the large number of multiplica- 
tions and other operations required to implement Fourier 
transformation and inversion straightforwardly, the fast 
Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm was invented. Books 
have been written on this topic, but here we can do no 
more than cite some of the features of the FFT. 

The FFT has several advantages. (1) By using the prop- 
erties of the sine and cosine functions, the number of 
needed sines and cosines is drastically reduced. (2) Simi- 
larly, the number of multiplications is drastically reduced, 
these, in effect, being replaced by additions. (3) The same 
routine, virtually unchanged, can be used for Fourier trans- 
formation and inversion. (4) No storage space is needed 
beyond that required for the initial data; the transforms 
simply "overwrite" the original numbers. (5) The total pro- 
cessing time is massively reduced, especially when N is 
large. 

The disadvantages of the FFT algorithm, for our present 



purposes, are as follows. (I) Tb function efficiently, N is 
required to be a power of 2. (2) Even though far fewer 
are needed, the evaluation of sines and cosines may still 
be a bottleneck and therefore a memory-consuming "sine 
lookup table" must be incorporated into time-efficient FFT 
algorithms. (3) The algorithm is inherently "square," being 
designed to generate 2/V outputs from 2N inputs; thus it 
cannot exploit the potential savings in the "rectangular" 
task of producing only £ outputs from N inputs. (4) 
Because of the need to perform "bit inversions," program- 
ming in anything except machine language is not efficient. 

Tb deal with situations in which the number of input data 
cannot be conveniently made a power of 2, the technique 
of "zero-filling" is often used. This inflates the number of 
points to be processed from N to the next higher power 
of 2— for example, from 200 to 2 56— with a consequen- 
tial increase in storage and time requirements but without 
any benefit to our present task. On the contrary, because 
it may introduce a sharp discontinuity (see examples), 
zero-filling hinders smoothing. 

For data-smoothing purposes, the disadvantages of the 
FFT often outweigh its advantages. This was the conclu- 
sion we reached after we had implemented a smoothing 
procedure that relied on a standard FFT routine. We there- 
fore designed the algorithm that is the subject of this ar- 
ticle. This new algorithm is not an FFT It shares with the 
FFT the first two advantages cited above but does not 
share any of the disadvantages. 

Principles of the Algorithm 

Notice that equations 7, 8, and 10 are all of the form 
(11) 



G - E, U m cos 



/2jrm[\ 



+ V M sin 



/ 2xmh 



i -m~H N ) ^ v m* m { N 

when G, m, U m , V m , M, and I are appropriately interpreted. 
To evaluate expression 1 1 our algorithm uses the follow- 
ing principle: The sum is split into odd-m and even-m terms, 



(12) 



o = - ( 77 J 



J m 



2ir(m+l)l 2jdy 



N 



- N 



/ 27r(m+l)( 2irh 



t\ 

V m ^ ( N " ■ N J 



E U m cos I 1 

m-2,4 m \ N ) 



+ v, 



'n s>n (— ) 



and the arguments of the trigonometric terms are 
modified in the odd-m moiety. Next, addition formulas are 
used to expand the modified functions and the m is then 
replaced by 2m- 1 in the first summation and by 2m in 
the second. After collection of terms, this leads to 

{continued) 



210 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



MICRO CAP and MICRO LOGIC 
put your engineers on line... 

not in line. #g|r t 












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Inquiry 295 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



Listing I: The Microsoft BASIC version of the Fourier- 
smoothing algorithm. 



4 ' * FOURIER SMOOTHING WITHOUT THE FAST FOURIER 

TRANSFORM PROGRAM 
6 '* By Eric E, Aubanel and Keith B. Oldham 



10 CLS 

12 INPUT "ENTER NUMBER OF DATA POINTS";N 

14 REM LEAVING R AND I ARRAYS UNDIMENSIONED 
LIMITS VALID VALUES OF E TO < = 10 

16 N2 = INT((N + 1)/2+1):DIM X(N),X1(N),U(N2),V(N2) 

18 FOR kOTON-1 

20 INPUT "ENTER DATAPOINT VALUE";X(I) 

22 LPRINT "X(";l;") - ";X(I) 

24 NEXT I 

26 GOSUB 60 

28 LPRINT "WHEN E = ";E;" THE SMOOTHED DATA 
VALUES ARE:" 

30 FOR I = TO N - 1 

32 LPRINT "X(";l;") = ";X1(I) 

34 NEXT I 

36 INPUT "IF YOU WANT TO TRY A DIFFERENT E, 
ENTER 1 ELSE ENTER 0";MORE 

38 IF MORE=1 THEN GOSUB 60 ELSE IF MOREoO 
THEN 36 ELSE 42 

40 GOTO 28 

42 END 

44 REM FOURIER ALGORITHM SUBROUTINE BEGINS 
AT LINE 60. LINE NUMBERS ARE THE SAME AS 
FOR THE HP VERSION OF THE SUBROUTINE 

60 PI = 3. 141593 

70 PRINT "NUMBER OF TRANSFORM POINTS 
TO BE KEPT"; 

80 INPUT E 

90 IF E>INT((N + 1)/2) THEN PRINT "E TOO LARGE" 

:GOTO 70 
100 IF E< >INT(E) OR E< = 1 THEN GOTO 70 
110 IF E<=QTHEN 870 
120 REM 

130 IFQoOTHEN 330 
240 'CALCULATE R(0) 
250 G = 

260 FOR J = 0TO N-1 
280 G = G + X(J) 

290 NEXT J 
300 R(0) = G/N 
310 Q=1 
320 REM 
330 PRINT "WORKING ON R(K) TRANSFORM 

CALCULATIONS'* 
340 J2 = INT((N~1)/2) 
350 P1=INT(LOG(2*J2-1)/LOG(2)) 
360 FOR K = Q TO E-1 
370 J1=J2 

380 S = PI*K*2/N 

390 C = COS(S):S = SIN(S) 

400 FOR J = 1 TO J1 

410 L = 2*J-1 

420 U(J) = X(L)*C + X(L+1) 

430 V(J) = X(L)*S 

440 NEXT J 



450 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


460 


FOR P«1 TO P1 ^ 


470 


U(J1 +1) = 0:V(J1 + 1) = 


480 


J1=INT«J1+1)/2) 


490 


FOR J = 1 TO J1 


500 


L = 2*J-1 


510 


U«U(L)*C-V(L)*S + U(L+1) 


520 


V(J) = U(L)*S + V{L)*C + V(L+1) 


530 


U(J) = U 


540 


NEXT J 


550 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


560 


NEXT P 


570 


R(K) = (X(0) + (U(1)»C + V(1)*S))/N 


580 


NEXT K 


590 


REM 


600 


PRINT "WORKING ON l(K) TRANSFORM 




CALCULATIONS" 


610 


FOR K = QTO E-1 


620 


J1 = J2 


630 


S = 2*PI*K/N 


640 


C = COS(S):S = SIN(S) 


650 


FOR J = 1 TO J1 


660 


L = 2*J-1 


670 


U(J)=-(X(L)*S) 


680 


V<J) = X(L)*C + X(L+1) 


690 


NEXT J 


700 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


710 


FOR P=1 TO P1 


720 


U(J1+1) = 0:V(J1 + 1) = 


730 


J1=INT((J1+1)/2) 


740 


FOR J = 1 TO J1 


750 


L = 2*J-1 


760 


U = U(L)*C-V(L)*S + U(L+1) 


770 


V(J) = U(L)*S + V(L)*C + V(L+1) 


780 


U(J) = U 


790 


NEXT J 


800 


S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


810 


NEXT P 


820 


l(K)=-((U(1)*C + V(1)*S)/N) 


830 


NEXT K 


840 


REM 


850 


IF E>QTHEN Q = E 


860 


REM 


870 


PRINT "WORKING ON INVERSE TRANSFORM" 


880 


REM 


890 


'CALCULATE X1(0) 


900 


F1=0:F2 = 


910 


FOR K » 1 TO E - 1 


920 


T-R(K) 


930 


F1-F1+T 


940 


F2 = F2 + K*K*T 


950 


NEXT K 


960 


X1(0) = R(0) + 2*(F1-F2*(1/E/E)) 


980 


REM 


990 


P1 =INT(LOG(2*E-3)/LOG(2)) 


1000 


FOR J = 1 TO N - 1 


1010 


T2 = E*E 


1020 


FOR K = 1 TO E - 1 


1030 


F=1 -K*K/T2 


1040 


U(K)«R(K)*F:V(K)«-(I(K)*F) 


1050 


NEXT K 


1060 


K1 =E-1 


1070 


S = 2*PI*J/N 




[continued) 



212 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 213 



/ 



Name 



Title 



Company 



Street 



City 



State 



Zip 



Phone f ) 



/ 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



1080 


C = COS(S):S = SIN{S) 


1090 


FOR P-1 TO P1 


1100 




U(K1 +1) = 0:V(K1 + 1) = 


1110 




K1 = INT((K1 +1)/2) 


1120 




FOR K = 1 TO K1 


1130 




L = 2*K-1 


1140 




U«U(L)*C-V(L)*S + U(L + 1) 


1150 




V(K) = U(L)*S + V(L)*C + V(L + 1) 


1160 




U(K) = U 


1170 




NEXT K 


1180 




S = 2*S*C:C = 2*C*C-1 


1190 


NEXT P 


1200 


X1(J) 


= R(0) + 2*(U(1)*C + V(1)*S) 


1220 


NEXT J 




1230 


RETURN 





(14) 



Listing 2: The straight-line procedure for eliminating the 
''end effect" can be M ERG Ed with listing 1 without 
modification. Note that this listing is not a stand-alone 
program. 



140 'STRAIGHT LINE CALCULATION 
150 S1 =0:S2 = 
160 D = INT(N/10) 
170 FOR J = 0TO D-1 
180 S1=S1+X(J) 

190 S2 = S2 + X(N-J-1) 

200 NEXT J 
210 X1 =S1/D:X2 = S2/D 
220 M = (X2-X1)/(N-D) 
230 B = (X1+X2)/2-M*N/2 
270 X(J) = X(J)-M*J-B 

970 X1(0) = X1(0) + B 
1210 X1(J) = X1(J) + M*J + B 



(13) 



Int 



G = 



2 

E 

m-1,2 



\U2m-l'- v 2m-\s + U 2m \ cos^j 



[ u 2m - 



\s + V 2m -\c + V t 



•H^) 



where c and s are abbreviations for cos {2wllN) and sin 
(2irl/N), respectively. If M is odd, equation 1 3 calls for the 
values of [/ A|+1 and V mi . which were not present in 
equation 11; these terms are to be interpreted as zero. 
A comparison of equations 1 1 and 1 3 shows that, at the 
expense of having to evaluate two new coefficients, we 
have condensed the number of summed terms by a fac- 
tor of (almost or exactly according to the parity of M) 
2. A careful analysis shows that if such a condensa- 
tion procedure is repeated P times, where P = 
Int{log 2 (2M- 1)}, then a single [m=\] term 



i 



newest U coefficient 



1 —( 2 P+l *l \ 



N 
P+L 



1/ iP+ 1 i\ 
sin I — jj~) 



remains, from which G is easily calculable. 

By adopting this P-foId condensation procedure, we have 
reduced the number of sines and cosines that each need 
to be evaluated from M to P+l, or from 198 to 9, for ex- 
ample. In fact, you can get away with evaluating only one 
sine and one cosine, since the arguments involved {2wllN, 

A-kIIN, SirllN 2 p+1 7rWV) form a sequence in which 

each is double the previous argument, allowing the 
duplication formulas sin20 = 2sin$cos6 and cos20 = 
2cos 2 - 1 to be used with advantage. It must be em- 
phasized that our algorithm is for Fourier smoothing alone. 

Operation of the Algorithm 

[Editor's note: The listings reprinted here are Microsoft versions of 
the authors HP programs. The HP listings are available on the 
FROMBYTE file area of BYTEnet Listings. (603) 924-9820, under 
the names FT.BAS and FTEXT.BASJ 

The data to be smoothed is entered into array X(f), I = 
to A/- 1, where N is the number of points. The number 
of iterations of the condensation procedure Q. is initial- 
ized to zero. Lines 140 through 230, 270, 970, and 1210 
have been omitted from the subroutine listing. These lines 
can be filled with a straight-line modification of the data, 
which we will discuss in the next section. 

The degree of smoothing, E, must be an integer greater 
than 1 and less than N/2 (half the total number of points). 
The first transform calculated is R . followed by the evalua- 
tion of R fc and I A for k = O to E- 1 (see below). Then the 
first inverse transformed point x is calculated, using 
the quadratic filter function and R k . Finally, the rest of the 
inverse transforms x Jt for/ = 1 to N-\, are calculated 
using R k , l k and the quadratic filter function. These inverse 
transforms consist of the smoothed data and are stored 
in array Xl(/), / = to N-\. 

After one pass through the subroutine, you may want 
to select a different degree of smoothing. To do so, you 
execute the subroutine again. Since many of the trans- 
forms will have been calculated previously (the number 
currently existing is Q), this second execution of the sub- 
routine will require fewer transform calculations (or none 
if greater smoothing— i.e., a smaller E— is chosen). 



Examples 

Let's take a look at three types of applications of our al- 
gorithm; on scientific data, meteorological data, and an- 
nual agricultural statistics. 

Our first example concerns electrochemical data ac- 
quired in this laboratory during studies of very low con- 

(continued) 



214 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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2446 Verna Court 
San Leandro, CA 94577 

(415) 895-0798 TELEX: 704521 
Houston, TX(713) 680-1944 




Inquiry I2l 



FEBRUARY I985 -BYTE 215 



FOURIER SMOOTHING 



centrations of heavy metal in water. Because the signal 
is so small it is contaminated with noise (see figure 2). 
Fourier smoothing the data eliminates the noise, leaving 
the signal proper. This illustrates the virtue of Fourier 
smoothing experimental data acquired electronically, since 
it can eliminate the high-frequency noise originating from 
the instrumentation. The peak height, which is propor- 
tional to the metal concentration, can be quantified easi- 
ly from the smoothed curve. 

Choosing the right degree of smoothing, by varying E, 
is a matter of trial and error. The effects of undersmooth- 
ing and oversmoothing are illustrated in figure 2. We ob- 
tained the best smoothing when 3 < £ < 9. 

Consider a graph of daily maximum temperature 
readings for the period of January 1982 to June 1983, 
shown in figure 3. There is a clear seasonal variation, but 
there is also a great deal of scatter. This scatter is caused 




Figure 2; An example of Fourier smoothing scientific data. The 
data represents a derivative neopolarogram at a static-mercury- 
drop electrode. The black line, showing proper smoothing, was ob- 
tained by N - 72, E = 8. \n the red line, showing under- 
smoothing, E = 20. In the oversmoothed blue line E = 4. 



by short-term variations in the temperature due to chang- 
ing weather conditions. To better examine the underlying 
seasonal variations, it would help to eliminate the short- 
duration fluctuations of temperature. A direct application 
of Fourier smoothing, however, produces the red line 
shown in figure 3, which is obviously not satisfactory. The 
smoothed curve does not match the data at the ends. The 
cause of this "end effect" is that some high frequencies 
not due to noise were eliminated in the smoothing pro- 
cess. The "genuine" high frequencies come from the 
discontinuity between the beginning and the end of the 
data. The discrete Fourier transform treats the data as 
periodic; that is, it assumes that the last points are fol- 
lowed by replicas of the initial points (see figure 4a). Thus 
the transform "perceives" a sudden jump between the end 
of one period and the beginning of the next. Sudden 

[continued) 



to 






















30 










Vv. 


: 








\,' 


20 








}jrf!r 










**3 




| 10 

£ 

1 






M 








oCi 


jy^ 






1- 
















i 






1 -10 

1 

< 

* -to 






















-30 






















-40 
























f 


M A 


M J 


J A 


SON 


J 


« M A 


M 


J 












MONTH 











Figure 3: Daily maximum temperatures at the Peterborough, 
Ontario, weather station from January 1982 through \une 
1983. The red line (N - 546, E = 9) provides an example of 
false smoothing due to an end effect'.' To correct for this effect, 
subtract a straight line (black) joining the ends of the un- 
smoothed data. The resulting "normalized" smoothing is shown 
by the blue line (E = 7). 



(a) 

* # 
* ■ * 


i t 

. "";. ^^^r- .***. (b) 


• • * * 

* » * 

* • * » 

« » 




# * 


■ , . • 



Figure 4: An explanation of the "end effect',' which results 
from the discrete Fourier transform treating the data as periodic 
(a). The sudden jumps between one period and the next produce 
"genuine" high frequencies {not associated with noise) in the 
transform spectrum. To eliminate the "end effect',' subtract a 



straight line joining the ends from the data. The result of this 
operation is shown in (b). Notice that now the data begins and 
ends at the same ordinate value, which means that there are no 
sudden discontinuities from the transforms point of view. 



216 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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FOURIER SMOOTHING 



jumps correspond to high frequencies, which in turn result 
in more high frequencies in the transform spectrum. 

The solution to the problem of retaining genuine high 
frequencies from transformed data is to subtract a straight 
line joining the beginning and the end of the unsmoothed 
data. Initially we thought of subtracting a line joining the 
first and last points. However, since the unsmoothed data 
contains a lot of scatter the straight line joining the end 
points would not necessarily match the beginning and end 
of the trend. We dealt with this problem by taking the first 
and last 10 percent of points, averaging each set, and join- 
ing the two resulting points. The procedure consists of sub- 
tracting the line from the unsmoothed data, smoothing 
the modified data, then adding the line on to the 
smoothed data. As mentioned before, the effect of sub- 
tracting the line is to eliminate end discontinuities (figure 
4b). To include this procedure in the smoothing 
subroutine, you should merge the program steps shown 
in listing 2 with listing 1. 

The result of treating the data in figure 3 with a straight 
line is shown as a blue line, which produces a much bet- 
ter fit. Note that a greater degree of smoothing is used 
here than in the "unnormalized" (red) line. Since we have 
now eliminated most "genuine" high frequencies, we can 
filter out more high frequencies. 

Historical statistics can be found on such varied sub- 
jects as wheat production and the number of hospital 
beds. In many cases there is an upward trend, due to the 
increasing population and increasing costs. To examine 
a trend over a long period of time, you may want to 
smooth the data. 

Our third case concerns wheat production in Canada 
from 1906 to 1974 (see figure 5). Here there is a great 
deal of noise, which makes it difficult to draw a definitive 
trend "by eye." The Fourier-smoothed curve shows an up- 
ward trend, as expected, but not in a straight line. This 
is important, because a straight-line fit might be an over- 
simplification for a particular analysis. 

There are other, more subtle sources of high frequen- 
cies that will not be discussed but should be mentioned. 



7O0O0O 








§ 600000 








u 500000 










{THOUSANDS 














g 300000 








| 








2 








8 zooooo 








i 








g 100000 


- 







19 








00 1910 


1920 1910 1940 1950 


1960 1970 




YEAR 





Figure 5: Unsmoothed (dots) and smoothed {line) statistical data 
on wheat production in Canada from 1906 through 1974. The 
large amount of scatter makes it difficult to draw a straight curve 
through the data. Fourier smoothing accomplishes this quite well 
given an appropriate choice of the degree of smoothing. 
Smoothing parameters: N - 69, E = 3. 

Sudden discontinuities other than the end type may oc- 
cur in the data, and these may be treated by subtracting 
several straight lines where appropriate You can also han- 
dle this problem by smoothing the continuous segments 
separately instead of treating the data as a whole. Another 
source of high frequencies is a sudden change in slope 
which is more difficult to correct. Here it is necessary to 
subtract an appropriate curve that matches the portion 
of the data that changes slope abruptly. ■ 

REFERENCES 

1. Stanley, W. D., and S. J. Peterson. "Fast Fourier Transforms on 
Your Home Computer," BYTE, December 1978, page 14. 

2. Zimmermann. M. "A Beginner's Guide to Spectral Analysis." 
parts 1 and 2. BYTE, February 1981. page 68. and March 1981, 
page 166. 

3. Lord, R. H. "Fast Fourier for the 6800." BYTE, February 1979. 
page 108. 



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FEBRUARY 198S -BYTE 219 



NHW 74ALS00 



Digitalker 



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SN7400N 


14 


23 


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■ 


SN7402N 


H 


a 


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< 


s 


SN7405N 


14 


«g 


S1V406N 


M 


• > 


\ : '. 


14 




W408N 


14 


a 


N 11 •'. 


14 


■,■■ 


SN741M 


14 


29 


SN7411N 


N 


29 


SW7412N 


>4 


"■■■■ 


SM7413H 


M 


B 


'. : st, 


14 


«g 


SN74I6* 


14 


.!■-. 


SN7417N 


14 


51 


SH7420N 


14 


8 


SN7421N 


11 


'•* 


SN7422N 


14 


59 


SN7423N 


11 


69 


SN7425N 


14 


39 


SN7428N 


U 


i<, 


SN7427N 


i* 


■': 


M74 M 


M 


59 


SN7430N 


14 


¥■ 


SN7432M 


14 


v, 


SN7433* 


11 


«■■> 


SM7437N 


14 


>, 


■', :■■•'. 


14 


19 




14 


■• 


SN7440N 


14 


14 


SN7441N 


16 


;..., 


SN7442N 


16 


45 


SN7443N 


16 


1.25 


SN7444N 


16 


1.25 


SJ47445AI 


16 


»-, 


N7446N 


16 


75 


SN7447N 


!b 


,"- 


.». ■•: \ 


N 


-'i- 


SN7454N 


14 


19 


SN748BN 


14 


■' L , 


SN7460N 


14 


B 


SN7470N 


14 


w 


SM7472N 


14 


V 


SK7473N 


14 


39 


'• 


4 


29 ] 


74LS01 


M 


■ 1 


74LS02 


* 


35 


74J.S03 


14 


a 


.-:.■:: 


4 


ri 


. SI .1/ 


>* 


35 


741 SQ8 


14 


ii, 


741 SOT 


14 


" 


.■41 su; 


14 


35 


741S11 


'4 


"■ 


74LS14 


14 


59 


741S15 


14 


IS 


741S20 


14 


29 


74LS21 


M 


55 


741S26 


4 


29 


74LS2? 


14 


35 


74LS26 


14 


19 


741 S30 


14 


19 


741 S3? 


14 


...» 


74LS37 


U 


■([, 


74LS3B 


14 


((. 


74LS42 


16 


.:. 


741 S47 


■6 


-" 


741S51 


U 


a 


74LS73 


II 


v< 


74LS74 


14 


•s 


741S75 


16 


1! 


74LS/6 


16 


83 


741 Sto 


It 


B9 


74LS86 


14 


19 


741S90 


14 


55 


74LS92 


it 


.-■ 


■1! .Hi 


14 


V( 


74LS96 


'6 


99 


74LS1G7 


4 


B 


74LS109 


16 


n 


74LS112 


•6 


j' 


MLS1M 


II 


J9 


741SI22 


il 


= ■ 


741S123 


16 


rg 


741S125 


'4 


•,< 


744.S126 


II 


59 


74S0O 


14 


S 1 


74S02 


14 


i, 


74S03 


14 


IS 


74S04 


14 


(5 


74S05 


H 


e 


74S08 


14 


IS 


'»-.•.■ 


14 


n 


74510 


14 


IS 


74S11 


14 


.15 


74SI5 


14 


B 


74S20 


14 


35 


74S22 


14 


15 


74S30 


14 


*'• 


MI, ', 


14 


I' 


74S37 


H 


a 


74S38 


14 


-• 


74SS1 


N 


s ; 


74SM 


14 


V- 


74S65 


4 


: ' 


74S74 


14 


55 


i',.»: 


'6 


199 


74S86 


14 


55 


MS1 12 


16 


■- 


74S1I3 


:( 




>'. i. ■ *. 




■ 1 


CA3039H 




US 


CA3046N 


14 


99 


CA3059* 


1* 


2 95 


CA306ON 


16 


295 


CA3065E 


14 


149 


CA30B0E 


8 


99 


CD4001 


14 


29 1 


C04002 


14 


s 


CD40QG 


14 


n 


C04007 


U 


?i 


CD4008 


16 


m 


CD4009 


'6 


9 


C04010 


II 


; j 


C04011 


14 


"' 


CD4012 


14 


a 


C040I3 


14 


B 


C04014 


16 


BS 


CO40t5 


16 


B 


CD4016 


: 4 


49 


C04017 


■6 


•9 


C0401B 


■ 


rs 


C04019 


16 


8 


C04020 


16 


■ ; , 


C04021 


■6 


• ; 


CD4022 


!6 


75 


CO4023 


14 


29 


CD4024 


■4 


69 


CD4025 


14 


29 


CD4026 


M 


159 


CO4027 


i6 


45 


CD4028 


■6 


69 


CD4029 


'6 


79 


CO4030 


14 


39 


:II-S 1 


N 


179 


CD4095 


16 


79 


V CD4540 


16 


75 


^^ pm«CMm 



'. • '. 

N I7GN 

SN7479N 
SNMSON 

'. : '. 

\ : •. 
SN74d5M 

.»,. : 6N 
SN7489N 

..',. BON 

'■,N,'S41N 
SN I92N 
SM7493N 
SN7494N 
SN7495M 
'■ ■ ; * k 
SIY7497N 
SN7H00N 
SN74105N 
SNMID7N 
SN74109N 
SN74116N 
SN74121N 
SN74127N 
SN74123N 
SM74125N 
'. !•-•■, 
H I128M 
'. ■. ', 

■>, ii3a 

SMM141N 
SN74142N 
N : I : W 
SM74144H 
SN74145N 

.*, turn 

SN,-*14WI 
N74150M 

SN74151N 
SNM152N 
SN74153N 
SN74154N 
SN/4I55N 
SN74156N 
SN/4157N 



741S132 
741SI33 
741S136 
741SI38 

AI1S1.J9 

I (LS145 
. US 14 

74LS14B 
74LS151 
74LST53 
741S154 
N SIS 
741SI56 
741S157 

iLSisa 

74LS160 

/■llSl.,1 
Ml SI I-,.' 
741S163 
741S164 
74LS165 
74IS168 

74LS170 
r<&S173 

J. v : 
74LS175 
741S1BI 

■ii S19I 

74LS191 
MISI'V 
74IS193 
74LS194 
'4U1* 
74LS196 

rmsta 

■■:;--;.'■ 
CSM 
'H5?41 

74LS241 



T 



S*|74lWiN 

'. 4-. •, 

SN74165N 

SN74lf,7N 
SN/4I/I1N 
SN7417L*N 
SN741/:iN 
SN/41MN 
SN74l/5d 
SN741/6N 
SN74177N 
SH74T79J4 
SN741H0N 
SN74181N 

■. ; ', 
SN74IH4M 
SN741BSN 
SN74190H 
SN74191N 
SN74192N 
SHj74l9.Hl 
SM74!94ti 
SN74195N 
SN ; ~\ 
SNM19/N 
SN/4198N 
SN74199N 
SN 74 IN 
SrW,'5tN 
SN74?73N 

\ : •*. 
SN742/9H 
SN74283N 

.'. I '.'. 
SN74285N 

'. ■ ■ ', 
SN74386N 
.SNM.tf./N 
SN74.16aN 
SN74390N 

.*, : ■ ', 

741S2U ' 

741S245 

74IS251 

741S253 

74tS25J 

74i,S?S8 

Ml S2t* 
.Ml ,.',■■' 
74LS279 
741S280 
741S299 
•■s. .:,: 
m 5323 
Mi S347 

741S15.1 
■i; Q64 
741S365 
/•si S386 

/UMI,? 

.■.si S3GS 

741S373 
741S374 
741S375 
H OK 

Mi i.193 
741S399 
74LS490 
:i ,■■<■ 
'4LS534 
7415540 
. || .-,; ■ 

:1| ,.„1, 

74LS641 
■: 1644 
741S645 
74LS670 
mSGBfl 
8ILS95 
• 
8SLS97 

flusge 



74S11 
74S124 

'CI >. 

■:-,■ 
MS138 

74S138 
.-I- ■... 
74S14U 
74S1M 

t4S!53 

74S157 
M 151 

MS'- 

74S174 
74S175 
74S1S8' 
■i | |4 
74SI95 
74SI96 
74S240 



MS241 

'4S243 
74S244 
74S251 
74S253 

74S257 
74S258 
.MS2WI 

'4S273 
745200 
74S287- 
•4S28B- 
'4S299 
4S37 
45374 
74S387- 
1M I' 

B47 

74S473- 

74SS70- 

'48571 
MS572" 
74SS73" 



CA3062N 
DU0B3N 

A ■'«■ 



GA3130f 
A31401 

X3I60I 

CA3161E 
XJ16ZI 
A31 I 

CA3401N 



C04046 
C04W7 
CD4048 
a)4049 
CD4O50 
C04051 
C04052 
CO4053 
C040S6 
CO4059 

toe 

0)4066 

CD4068 
0406S 
«)4070 
CO4071 
C04072 
CO4073 
C04077 
CO407B 
CO4061 
CO4093 
: R394 
J 4Q90 
C04099 



04503 
CD4506 

CO4507 
CO4506 
CD4510 
OM5H 
C04517 
C04514 
D4 IS 

I'JV-. 

D04! 10 
C04" •. 
C»4520 
CD4526 



C04541 
C04543 
C0456J 
CD4566 
C04583 
C04584 
CD4723 
OM724 
MC1441D 
MC14411 



r« -• 


:| 


km e > ...- ^ * Gjk 


-Si ■ , 


14 


Oudl JK ftertivE Frtge Fl.pflop 


■■ 


■6 


Eioamteblr 38 Dccodei 


; s( ■ 


16 


Qu-xl I input Mult.oip«er 




6 


,.,«e» Unvl 


If : •■ 


't 


, . , I'.HllMl 


.•■si 240 


."■ 


i vm ilnverlimji 


74F244 








11, 


, ,,i Multiplexer 



/4ALSO0 


14 


Ouact 2 Input W.NI 1 Gate 


59 


MAI :..0^ 


14 


Quad 2 Input NOR Gate 


58 


•:i. W 


14 


Hoi umvipi 




74AISO0 




OsiaO 2 input ■*. 


59 


'4AI ;to 




IriDic 3 Input WUill Gate 




74AJ.S30 


14 


V\ 


59 


74AIS32 




Quad 2 kwut OH Gatr 


65 


74AIS74 


14 


Dual Drtpflop 


79 


74ALS109 


N 


Ouaf JKftis EOqr Hkj Ftop 




74ALSI38 


ii 


Expandable 3/8 Deux* 


125 


:.', J24G 


?o 


■ ,i i ine tlnvpr llnvertinql 


225 


74ALS244 


711 


fW Dnw 


225 


/4ALS24S 


.1. 


Octal Bu lanscmvw tNon tnvi 


259 


s»! WM 


70 


. , ii, r 


259 



MICROPROCESSOR COMPONENTS 



- MICROPROCESSOR CHIPS - 



:■/■ Ai 
" 



-ZBO. Z8QA. ZBQB Z8000 SERIES 





a 




349 


a ■- ■ 


4 




895 


.- MM 


>' 




1249 


78DP10 


a 








* 






,'- ■ ' 


4C 


■ 


1149 


. 


M 


Setiai i^C |La - 


1149 




4(1 


Serial i'0 


1149 




40 


(HnMK>MiiN 1, i/mn 1 1 4MH/ 


1,40 




:'H 


( minter Timt" i i>i ml 


449 


ZJ :. :.- 


*( 


Uuat Asynchnmuus Rec .lans 


995 


- Ml 


si 




1295 


ZB0APU1 


l( 


Parallel l»0 inieruci; Cowro** 


395 




4!. 


■ H MYi ftiCB Bonded i 


1195 


ZB0A-S1 ■ 


41 


Serial ID (Lacks DIHBl 


H95 


Z80A-S1 


41 


Serial 1-0 Harks SYNCH, 


■ 


Z8QIVS1 • 


tf 


SenalUO 


1195 


Z80B 


■ 




895 


zaosM n 


?J^ 




1195 


/HiilMlAHI 


III 


Hex Irans 


!995 


mm pi i) 


M 


i*i',iiii i intfrt,Ke Controller 


1095 


/HIMUH 


4fl 


,.hi V^mcnKnlllllMH?! 


7995 


7J0O2S 


40 

55 




59 95 









66024) 

BSZO 

OS I 



f.HHtll 

6821 

r.-tV! 

684! 

60641 

• ■--< 
6860 

.-.K«,| - 
68488P 



s DM 
8060 

- m 

8085A 

- OSA . 

80862 

mj«7 
-m 
8155 

3151 

1?0' 
-,':." 

8228 
s.737 6 
8238 

- ■:■ 

esoN 



84 



8748 

8749 

374'. 

80181 ■■ 

loua 



■V-iHwai kitef Adapt (M06S20) 
Penpneral Intatice Adapter (2MH/I 
COT ContioHet iOITCi 
CUT Controlter OICi 2MHz 



- 8000 80000 SERIES 

I Control Oriented CPU WHAM & HO 



2495 
1995 



INS177I 1 

FDI791 

F01793 

F01795 

FD1797 

OS0026CN 
M52C 

MC3470P 
.,„,, ... 

MM54 I N 

■.",' ■•.:■• 
VV 1AM 

MM' '.-, ,AA N 



.-*-■■ QM BwOrhi 748428 
Migh Pert Prog DMA Cent (5MH/I 
System Controller I74S438) 
1.11 Expander tot 48 Seres 
Async Conwi Elemenl 

I lUSARTt 
PfOQ Comm Inleriacc (USARTt 
Prrxj Interval Tinier 
ftinj Rgripn«al I/O iPPIl 

'11 SMH; 
ftog tnterrupt Control 
SqteiDt* Oensity Floppy Oek Cont 
MuM.-ProBCOl Serial Conl |7201| 
P>oo tteyDoardtiBiJiay tmertace 

--. ma 

Dock Generator 'Of n«f 

(Viai Bus transcervef 

l-.mscerver Ifnvertedi 
Buv Controller 

HMil Tn-Stati' Hi IliiiTHonal Ir.ins 
B Bit Br-DireclKm.il Heceiwr 
Odal Latctw) Periptwral Dnuer 
fl Sil Untv f*npf>erai tnleftaci' 
HMOS EPBOM MPU 
MPU 8-Bn (EPBOM vwsw ol 80491 
l€K EPBOM wrth UO 

•' .' '!-.; .■■ •■ Iff 

High Integra 16 BVt MPU (8 B,t Data ft. 

- DISK CONTROLLERS 



40 „r,qie UnuWe Density (fuel 
10 I1u.il Densitv.'Sicti >l.:<;1 ilnvi 
40 Dual Densdv.'Stde Select (Ttuei 

— SPECIAL FUNCTION — 

I Dual MOS Clock Duver (5MH7i 



1695 

M <• 

26.95 

aas 



Floppy Disk flcac Amp System 
IV Camera Sync Generator 
Asyncftronous IransniifleT'Receiver 



■ l', 
■■ 
MM5761 

tmtet 

•.".' i 
•».' > 

MM5298 i 
II 56 150 



Ml 
2I0S 

•• ea 

2111 
2112 
21t4M 

'H4N-L 

.'114*2 

M', 

: -f, 

.' I SoHN 
1MS4045 
1MS40147-45 

MM52J 

HM6H6P? 
...i. . 
.. v . |ta 

MEitaj 

1462641 

■',<• • % 

HI 64 
27LSOO 
'489 
'4C921 

■Si.-y 

'4S189 



2708 
MSi M 
v 
M52564 

rMS2715 

■■'• 

.VClf 
.'716 1 

2732 

2732A2! 
[732*4 

27C32 

27Q2A-30 

2764-20 

764 :» 

!764-4! 

27C64 

:■;"* .-- 
'45188 



4096i l 1750*41 

16 3H1«' 11511ns I 

I6.384i l (20flnsl 

16.384. 1 t250nsi 



262 144iT|150nsi 

262 144x1 BOos) 

131.072.1 |2O0nsl 

— STATIC fl 



H.1II4'-. 

a >• as 

- 8M95 

874 i 

. - 189; 

-8(1 95 
b-Htb 



450ns) 811 ■ 

iu^4,t (,150nsi 

256.4 <450nsi8tt1 

256x4 -450nsi MOS 

1024<4 (450*151 

1024x4 (450ns> LP 1 95 

1024«4 <200nsl 1 3^ 

1024x4 (200ns) LP 1 69 

4096x1 (70nsi 

1024x4 |70ns) 

1024x4 1450ns! 

1024x4 ,.(■„,,,, 

25f,x4 |4S0ns)CM0l 



J192xt 
8192x1 

.■",-„! 



'.' 

W 

: CM 

ii20n5llPCMOS 
<i50ns}CM0S 

(80nsl LP 
(50nsj 3101 
2! res) CMOS 

(250nsi CMOS (65181 
DSnsi 93405 
I35nsl 3101 
<50nsiOC (93415) 
i5GraiQC (74S289I 



- 8713.85 

- | 10,9; 

- 81349 



(7 9', 

BS5 
M X 
1 1 85 



1024x8 (450nsi 
2048x8 I450nsl27l6 
4096x8 |450ns| NMC2532 



|450nsl 
CMOS 
i350nsl 



8192x8 

•"-.■,- 

8192x1 
B192x8 



(450ns| 21V 
CMOS 

l300nsl 71V (CMOS) 
[200nsi 21V 
1250ns) 21V 
(450ns) 21V 
bMOS IV 
(450nsl 21V 



9 16.3*4.8 l250nsl128KEfKom?1V 



t995 
1495 



249! 



74S387 

74S471 
'4S47; 

•:-.;.' 

74S475 

i ■.-. i 

■S-M ■-. 

4S570 

"■ 

MS-: • ■ 

-12S21 

*.-*>•': 
•<<■■.:■ 

i?SI."> 
S.'Si:?n 
•j.":,l-.v 

B2S191 
DM87! '■■'•- 
M87S184N 

',:■ 

'/- •, 



i-'.^.t 



PflOMIS (82S137I 
PBOMOC (275181 

**om • :■•'■■■ 

PHOM IS (27St9i 
mOM (27S2I 

PROMTS (27S21I 
PROMOC (27S12I 
PROMTS |TBP24S81| 



I .'Iflh.H iBOnsi 

I 1024x8 PROM 15 (82S18D 

I 2048.4 PROMOC (B2S184I 

I 2048.4 PROM TS i82S185l 

I 2048x8 PROMTS (87S19H 

- DATA ACQUISITION — 



.',!.( ,«-,.,', 
A> .»■■ 

Ai.r, i,",;- 
IACO80I 
lAI ■- 

a n 

Ml 83 
MC 1631 

- ion 

DAC1000 

* ' : 

>a. ■ ;. 

,*. ■?,-; 

•■■ '...- 

DM 1231 

IY5 1013A 



' 295 

8-Brl/W) Convertp, I -4LS8) 1495 

8ftl All Converter > t 2t.SBi 4 95 

8-Brt A/D Converter (iLSei 349 

8-B.t AyO Com w/8-Channei Analog 9 95 

8-Bit M) Converter (8-Ch Mutti i 4 49 

8-B*r A/D Conv w/16-Channel Analog 1 4 95 

8-Btl AD Converter tte-Cfl Mutti) 949 

H H,i I) A Cmvenei (0.78*6 Lin | 1 95 

8-Bit D'A Convirter (MC1408-7I 1 49 

8-B.t D A Convene* (MCUOtWl 225 

8-t3.IUpO.AComl05*tLmi 595 

8BK Up D/A Cony ( t0*» Lm I 4 49 

lOBw D/A Conv Mcro Come (005H) 795 

10Wr>ACWvMcroCornp (020^1 695 

10-BflD/ACowi (0O5V:L-ii 795 

10-Brt D'A Conv (020*1 tin l 595 



10 SDK kiixt HURT itfllKl?; 



LM Prglllc T»| $ 



Sociom ' 

|6»td|L«wl»3 



IP 


id 


UP 


17 


IP 


19 


LP 


■i. 


IP 


Hi 


LP 


31 



28 on LP 40 37 

40 pi LP 49 46 



-: 



IpinSG 
SpinSG 
9 pinSG 
pin st, 
2p«nSG 
IpmSG 
BpmSG 
bpmSG 1 
BpinSG ' 



Ht«|r Plufs I&4III 



16 pin HP 69 
24 pin HP t 15 



29 25 



}? 



S10 00 Minimum Order - US. Funds Only 
California Residents Add 6' j°t Sales Tax 
Shipping - Add 5°ra plus SI 50 Insurance 
Send S.A.S.E. tor Monthly sales Flyer! 



Spec Sheets - 30e each 
Se?nd $1 00 Postage for your 
FREE 1985 JAMECO CATALOG 
Prices Subject to Change 




1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 
2/85 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (41 S) 592-8097 Telex: 176043 



DT1050 — Applications: Teaching aids, 
appliances, clocks, automotive, telecommunica- 
tions, language translations, etc. 

The DT1050 is a standard DIGITALKER kit encoded with 137 separate 
and usetui words. 2 tones, and 5 different silence durations The 
words and tones have been assigned discrete addresses, making it 
possible to output single words or words concatenated into phrases 
or even sentences The voice ' output of the OT105O is a highly In 
telligible male voice Female and children s voices can be synthesiz 
ed The vocabulary is chosen so thai il is applicable to many pro 
ducts and markets 

The DT1050 consists of a Speech Processor Chip, MM54104 (40-pin| 
and two <2> Speech ROMs MM52164SSR1 and MM52164SSR2 (24 pirn 
alonq with a Master Word list and a recommended schematic 
diagram on the application sheet 

DT1050 Digitalker"" $34 95 ea 

MM54104 Processor Chip $14.95 ea. 



DT1057- Expands the DTI 050 
words. Includes 2 ROMs and specs 
Part No DT1057 



■IICSfilillT^lllM 



from 137 to over 260 

$24.95 ea. 



7D45H 

M06CPL 
FE02020 
FE020.in 

/106FVKII 

7107CPL 

7116CPL 

720 IUS 
7205IPC 
7205EV10I 
7206CJPt 

7206CtV'Kn 
7207AIR1 

■ 1 >n , f, • 
7215IPG 
7?15f.V/Kj| 
7216AU1 
72160W 
721 7UI 
7217AJP 
7224*1 
•■,•..■ 



CMOS Pnaasw Ttmer 

Stopeatcn Chip. XTL (tvatualion Km 

1'r Digit A'O (LCD Driwi 

4 Dhjii LCD Oiiptay lor 7106 8 7116 

3«i Digit LCD Display tor 7(06 & 7t16 

iC Circuit Board. Display (Evaluation KjIJ 

3'j Dxjit A* (LED Dnvel 

10 Drcurt Board. Display lEraduuon Kill 

V-i Dign AJO LCO Dis HLD 

Low Battery VUt mdraw 

CMOS LEO 

Stopwatcti Chip CTL 

bne Generator 

tone Generator Chip XTL (Evaluation Kill 

Oscillator Controller 

Freq Counter Chip XTL (Evaluation (CD 

4 Func CMOS Stopwatch CKT 

4 Func Stopwatch Chip XTL iFwluatirm Kit) 

8 0«)i!Lln.vCounie(CA 

SDignFreq Counter CC 

4 Okjit LED Up/Oown Counter C A 

4 Dxjrl LEO Uptown Countei C C 
LCO 4':. Oxyt Up Courier OH 

5 function Counter Chip XTL (Evaluation Kill 



M • 

t995 

10 49 

I 
1495 
41, IS 
1095 
4695 
10 -. 



1695 
1949 
3149 
2149 
10 95 



Imoocj 1QB3 INTERSIL Data Book - 



74HC High Speed CMOS 



74HCO0 


ll 


59 


74HCt39 


IE 


105 


74HC02 


■I 


58 


74HC147 


H 


129 


74HC03 


'l 


... 


74HC151 


M 


99 


74HC04 


14 


Kt. 


74MC153 


N 


109 


-s- U04 


'I 


...■„ 


74HC154 


71 


265 


74HC08 


■l 


-.'. 


74HC157 


M 


99 


74HC10 


■i 


v< 


•CIS 


Hi 


99 


74HCH 


14 


Mt 


74HCT60 


if 


139 


74HC14 


U 


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74HC161 


If 


139 


74HC20 


14 


S9 


74HC162 


■>■ 


139 


/mi:.'/ 


H 


59 


74HC163 


If 


139 


74HC30 


14 


69 


74HC164 


14 


135 


74HC32 


U 


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74HC165 


If 


215 


74HC42 


lb 


109 


74HC166 


■■>■ 


249 


74HC51 


14 


89 


F4H| ■ • 


; f 


129 


74HCSI 


14 


89 


74HC1 74 


■t 


109 


74HC73 


■i 


78 


74MC175 


II 


109 


74MC74 


'4 


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74HC190 


^ 


159 


74MC7! 


■t 


B 


74HC191 


'6 


159 


74HC76 


16 


79 


74MC192 


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if 


74HCH5 


M 


169 


74HC193 


■h 


74HC86 


14 


75 


74HC194 


in 


119 


74HC107 


14 


/. 


74HC195 


:f 


lit 


...smi |Q8 


it, 


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74HC221 


! ^ 


74HCH2 


^6 


79 


74MC737 


Ih 


149 


'4M 123 






74HC740 


1 


229 


74HC125 


■4 


175 


74HC241 


7(1 


229 


74MCT32 


■4 


129 


74HC242 


U 


215 


■,. t33 


:i 


159 


74HC243 


:i 




74HC138 


16 


119 


74HC244 


■ 


229 


74CO0 


11 


» 


P7!^8 






41,02 


14 


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■ili 




!(. S 


14 


35 


74C107 


14 


79 


M( UK 


11 


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It 


219 


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II 


35 


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3 25 


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119 


M 


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'ii ' 


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s, 74 


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139 


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74C175 


ib 


119 


l; 89 


M 


595 


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lb 


139 


74090 


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109 


74CI93 


lb 


139 


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ii 


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129 


74C95 


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if 


175 



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74HC251 16 

74HC253 II 

74HC257 16 

74HC259 16 

74HC266 14 

74HC273 9 

74HC280 14 

■:•' "■<■ 7D 

74HC366 16 

74HC367 16 

74HC373 20 

74HC374 10 

74HC390 If 

74MC393 14 

74HC533 a 

74HC534 a 

74HCS95 16 

-:■■ ..-- 70 

74HC4024 14 

74HC4040 16 

74HC4060 16 

74HC4075 14 

74HC4078 14 

74HC4511 16 

74HC4514 24 

74HC4538 16 



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7-SCI/4 
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74C903 
74C906 
P40SO7 
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74C9I2 
74C915 

I ■• 

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'4CS23 

/4C9?l, 
80C95 
80C97 



TL07ICP 6 

TL072CP 6 

R074CN 14 

TL081CP 8 

a082O» I 

TL084CN 14 
LM109K 

LM301CN 8 
LM302H 

IM.'UHH 
LM305H 
LM307CN | 
LM308CN 8 
LM309K 
LM3I0OM 6 
UW11CN 8 
LM312H 
LM317T 
LM317K 
LM318CN 8 
LM319N 14 
LM320K-5 
LM320K12 
LM320K15 
LM320K24 
IM320T-5 
LM32J I Ii 
V 

LM320124 
LM322N 14 
LM323K 

V- S-. 14 

,',' .'-I . 

LM331N ' 8 

LM3342 

LM335Z 

LM336Z 
'.' w. 
LM33H 

LM338K 
LM339N 14 
LM340tV5 
LM340KI? 

LM340K.15 

LM340M •■ 
M .!: I 

I W i-li, I ■ 

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LF355H 


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U 


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14 


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- 


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'4 


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LM392N 


8 


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8 


LF398N 


? 


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LF412CN 


1 


T14940. 


■ 


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8 


NE53IV 


1 


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m ■■ 


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8 


XB-L555 


8 


LM556N 


;.t 


ME558N 


■i 


NE564H 


IB 


LM565N 


ii 


UC566CN 


! 


LM567V 


1 


NE570M 


16 


'!•■ ". 


16 


NE592N 


14 


LM703CN 


a 


LM7I0M 


14 


LM711N 


'I 


LM723N 


'I 


UM733N 


'I 


LM73« 


'1 



v ■;-■• 8 
UA760MC 

LM 1456V 8 

LM1458CN a 

LM1488M 14 

LM1489N 14 

LM1496N 14 
LM1605CK 

LM180ON 16 

LM1871N 18 

LM1S72N 18 

LM1877nt 9 14 

LM1B89K 16 

LM1896N 14 
LM2002T 

ULN20Q3A IB 

XR2206 18 

XH2207 14 

KR2208 16 

XR22tl 14 
LM2877P 
LM2878JP 

IM290IN 14 

V } » II 

Ml - '. 14 

M ■■■. | 

LM3900M 14 

LM3905CN I 

'.' - -'. | 

LM39I4N IB 

LM3915M 18 

LM3916N IB 

W4136N 14 

RC4151HB 8 
RC4195TK 

LM4250CN 1 

LM4500A 16 

NE5532 8 

NE5534 I 
79M05AH 

CL803B 14 

LM13080N 8 

Lift • •'. '6 

76477 a 



30003 1982 Nat. Linear Data Book tVpQs $11 



— J 



220 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



Inquiry I6l 



Commodore" Accessories ProModem 1200 and Options 



RS232 ADAPTER FOR 
VIC-20 AND COMMODORE 64 



#> 



The JE232CM allows connection of standard serial RS232 
printers, modems, etc. to your VIC-20 and C-64. A 4- pole 
switch allows the inversion of the 4 control lines. Com- 
plete installation and operation instructions included. 

• Plugs into User Port • Provides Standard RS232 signal 
levels • Uses 6 signals (Transmit, Receive, Clear to Send, 
Request to Send, Data Terminal Ready, Data Set Ready) 

JE232CM $39.95 



VOICE SYNTHESIZER 
FOR APPLE AND COMMODORE 



J&r 




JE520AP 



JE520CM 

• Over 250 word vocabulary -affixes allow the formation of more 
than 500 words • Built-in amplifier, speaker, volume control, and 
audio jack • Recreates a clear, natural male voice • Plug-in user 
ready with documentation and sample software • Case size: 
7'/4"L x Pk "W x 1-3/8"H 

APPLICATIONS: • Security Warning • Telecommunication 

• Teaching • Handicap Aid 

• Instrumentation • Games 

Part No. Description Price 

JE520CM For Commodore 64 & VIC-20 S1 14.95 

JE520AP For Apple 1 1 II + and He $149.95 



Computer Memory Expansion Kits 



IBM PC, PC XT and Compatibles 

Mosi of the popular Memory Boards (eg Quadram" Expansion Boards) 
allow you to add an additional 64K. 1 28K. 1 92K or 256K The IBM64K Kii will 
populate these boards in 64K byte increments The Kit is simple lo install - 
just insert the 9 - 64K RAM chips in the provided sockets and sel the 2 groups 
of switches Complete conversion documentation included 

IBM64K (Nine 200ns 64K RAMs) $43.95 

IBM PC AT 

Each kit comes complete with nine 1 28K dynamic RAMs and documentation 
for conversion 

IBM128K (Nine 200ns 128K RAMs) $199.95 

APPLE lie 

Extended 80 Column/64K RAM Card Expands memory by 64K to give 1 28K 
when used with programs like WsiCatc"' Fully assembled and tested 

JE864 $99.95 

TRS-80 MODEL I, III 

Each Kit comes complete with eight MM5290 (UPD4 16/41 1 6j 1 6K Dynamic 
RAMs and documentation for conversion Model 1 1 6K equipped with Ex- 
pansion Interface can be expanded to 48K with 2 Kits Model III Can be 
expanded from 16K to 48K using 2 Kits Each Kit will expand computer by 
1 6K increments 

TRS-16K3 200ns (Model III) $8.95 

TRS-16K4 250ns (Model 1) $6.95 

TRS-80 MODEL IV & 4P 

Easy to install Kit comes complete wrth 8 ea 4 1 64N-20 (200ns) 64K Dynamic 
RAMs and conversion documentation Converts TRS 80 Model IV r;oiri| inters 
from 16K to 64K Also expands Model 4P from 64K to 128K 

TRS-64K-2 $38.95 

(Converts the Model IV from 1 6K to 64 K or will expand the Model 4P from 
64K to 126K) 

TRS-64K2PAL (Model IV only) $59.95 

(8 - 4164s with PAL Chip to expand from 64K lo 128K) 

TRS-80 COLOR AND COLOR II 

Easy to install Kit comes complete with 8 each 4164N-20 (200ns) 64 K 
Dynamic RAMs and documentation tor conversion Converts TRS-80 Color 
Computers with D. E, ET, F and NC circuit boards to 32K Also converts 
TRS-80 Color Computer II to 64K Rex DOS or OS-9 required to utilize 
full 64K HAM on all computers 

TRS-64K-2 $38.95 

_3 i>.Di,s ihizs Protect Yourself... 
1~T DATASHIELD 
W## Surge Protector 

1 ^Atfk^^ ■ Eliminates voltage spikes and EMI-RFI noise 

1^^^^ before it can damage your equipment or cause 

1 data loss ■ 6 month warranty • Power dissipa- 

1 • ■*• lion (100 microseconds): 1,000,000 watts* 6 

1 ^ sockets ■ 6 foot power cord ■ Normal line volt- 

\ age indicator light- Brown out/black out reset 

Model 100. . ff'f. $69.95 

Protect DATASHIELD 
* " — *■■ Back-Up 

Power Source 

Provides up to 30 minutes of continuous 1 20 

! VAC 60Hz power to your computer system 

_m (load dependent) when you have a black out 

or voltage sag • Six month warranty ■ Weight 

(PC2Q0) 24 lbs -(XT300): 37.5 lbs. 

PC200 (Output rating: 200 watts) $299.95 

XT300 (Output rating: 300 watts) $399.95 



^ Intelligent 300/1 200 Baud 
Prometheus Telephone Modem with 
Real Time Clock/Calendar 

The ProModem - is a Bell 2 1 2A (300/1 200 baud) intelli- 
gent stand-alone modem • Full featured expandable 
modem • Standard features include Auto Answer and 
Auto Dial, Help Commands, Programmable Intelligent 
Dialing, Touch Tone™ and Pulse Dialing & More ■ Hayes 
command set compatible plus an additional extended 
command set • Shown w/ alphanumeric display option. 
Part No. Description Price 

PM1200 RS-232 Stand Alone Unit. $349.95 

PM1200A Apple II, II+ and He Internal Unit $369.95 

PM1200B IBM PC and Compatible Internal Unit $269.95 

PM1200BS IBM PC & Comp. Int. Unit w/ProCom Software $319.95 

MAC PAC Macintosh Package $399.95 

(Includes PM1200, Cable, & ProCom Software) 

OPTIONS FOR ProModem 1200 

PM-COM {ProCom Communication Software) $79.95 

Please specify Operating System. 

PM-OP (Options Processor) $79.95 

PMO-16K {Options Processor Memory - 16K) $10.95 

PMO-32K (Options Processor Memory - 32K) $20.95 

PMO-64K (Options Processor Memory - 64K) $39.95 

PM-ALP (Alphanumeric Display) $79.95 

PM-Special (Includes Options Processor, 64K Memory 

and Alphanumeric Display). $189.95 



KEYBOARDS 



Apple" Accessories 



5 1 /4" APPLE™ 

Direct Plug-In 

Compatible Disk Drive 

and Controller Card 

The ADD-514 Disk Drive uses 
Shugart SA390 mechanics- 143K 
formatted storage • 35 tracks 

■ Compatible with Apple Control- 
ler & ACC-1 Controller • The drive 
comes complete with connector and cable - just plug 
into your disk controller card -Size: 6"L x 3VW x 
8-9/1 6"D -Weight: 4Y2 lbs. 

ADD-514 (Disk Drive) $169.95 

ACC-1 (Controller Card) $ 49.95 

More Apple Compatible Add-Ons... 

APF-1 (Cooling Fan with surge protection). . . . $39.95 

KHP4007 (Switching Power Supply) $59.95 

JE614 (Numeric/Aux. Keypad tor He) $59.95 

KB-A68 (Keyboard w/Keypad tor II & II+) $79.95 

MON-12G (12" Green Monitor tor ll.ll+./te.llc). . . . $99.95 

JE864 (60 Col. +64K RAM tar He) $99.95 

ADD- 12 (5 V Half-Heigrit Disk Drive) $179.95 



DISK DRIVES 




13VL x 4WVx VH 



New- 1 




16-9/16TX6VWX1VH 




Mitsumi 54-Key Unencoded 
All-Purpose Keyboard 

■ SPST keyswitches • 20 pin ribbon cable connec- 
tion - Low profile keys • Features: cursor controls, 
control, caps (lock), function, enter and shift keys 

■ Color (keycaps): grey ■ Wt.: 1 lb. - Pinout included 

KB54 $14.95 



76-Key Serial ASCII Keyboard 

• Simple serial interface ■ SPST mechanical switch- 
ing ■ Operates in upper and lower case • Five user 
function keys: F1 -F5 • Six finger edge card connec- 
tion • Color (keys) tan - Weight: 2 lbs. • Data incl. 

KB76 $29.95 



Apple Keyboard and Case 
for Apple II and 11+ 



■ Case: Accommodates KB-A68 • Pop-up lid for 
ea sy access • Size : 1 5% ' W x 1 8"D x 4 H "H 



KB-EA1 Apple Keyboard and Case (pictured above) $134.95 

KB-A68 68-Key Apple Keyboard only. $ 79.95 

EAEC-1 Expanded Apple Enclosure Case only $ 59.95 



POWER SUPPLIES 



TRANSACTION TECHNOLOGY, INC. 
5VDC @ 1 AMP Regulated Power Supply 

■Output: +5VDC® 1.0 amp (also +30VDC regulated) -Input: 115VAC, 60 Hz 
• Two-tone (black/beige) self-enclosed case ■ 6 foot. 3-conductor black 
power cord - Size: 6' 2" L x 7" W x 2V H ■ Weight: 3 lbs 

PS51194 $14.95 



Documentation » mmw~' 

Included "^^^^ "*»■' 

MPI51S {MPf 5'/4 " SS full-ht) $ 89.95 

RFD480 (Remex 516 " DS full-ht.). .... $129.95 

TM100-2 (Tandon 5V DS full-ht.) $159.95 

FD55B ' (Teac 5 V DS half-ht.) $149.95 

SA455 (Shugart 5V 4 " DS half-ht). ... $1 59.95 

FDD100-8 (Siemens 8" SS full-ht.) $139.95 

PCK-5 <5 1 /4 " Power Cable Kit) $2.95 

PCK-8 (8" Power Cable Kit) $3.95 

UV-EPROM Eraser 

| 8 Chips - 21 Minutes I * b ^ 



| 1 Chip - 1 5 Minutes 



Erases all EPROMs. Erases up to 8 chips within 21 minutes (1 chip 
in 1 5 minutes) Maintains constant exposure distance of one inch. 
Special conductive foam liner eliminates static build-up. Built-in 
safety lock to prevent UV exposure. Compact - only 9.00T x 
3.70'W x 2.60"H. Complete with holding tray for 8 chips. 

DE-4 UV-EPROM Eraser $74.95 

UVS-11EL Replacement Bulb $16.95 








Power/Mate Corp. REGULATED POWER SUPPLY 

• Input: 1 05- 1 25/21 0-250 VAC at 47-63 Hz ■ Line regulation: • 0.05% ■ Three 
mounting surfaces ■ Overvoltage protection • UL recognized - CSA certified 

Part No. Output Size Wight Pnco 

EMAS/6B 5V@3A/6V@2.5A 4VLx4'Wx2VH 2 lbs. $29.95 
EMA5/6C 5V@6A/6V@5A 5VL x 4VW x 2VH 4 lbs. $39.95 



KEPCO/TDK 4-OUTPUT SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY 

• Ideal for disk drive needs of CRT terminals, microcomputers and 
video games - Input: 1 1 5/230VAC. 50/60HZ • Output + 5V @ 5 Amp. + 1 2V @ 
1.8 Amp. *12V «$ 2 Amp, -12V 0.5 Amp • UL recognized - CSA certified 

• Size: 7VL x 6-3/161* x 1 VH • Weight: 2 lbs. $59.95 each Or 

MRM174KF 2 for $99.95 



Switching Power Supply for APPLE II, II + & He '" 

• Can drive four floppy disk drives and up to eight expansion cards 

• Short circuit and overload protection ■ Fits inside Apple computer 

• Fully regulated 4-5V @ 5A, +12V @ 1.5A, -5V @ .5A. -12V @ .5A 

• Direct plug-in power cord included • Size: 9VL x 3VW x 2V«"H 
•Weight: 2 lbs. 

KHP4007 (SPS-109) $59.95 



4-CHANNEL SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY 

- Microprocessor, mini-computer, terminal, medical equipment and process 
control applications ■ Input: 90-130VAC, 47-440HZ • Output: +5VDC @ 5A. 
-5VDC@1 A. 4l2VDC@1A,-12VDC@1A-Lineregulations: • 0.2%- Ripple: 
30mV p-p ■ Load regulation • 1% • Overcurrent protection ■ Adj: 5V main 
output - 10% • Size: 6VL x 1VW x 4-15/16"H • Weight: f% lbs. 

FCS-604A $69.95 



$10.00 Minimum Order — U.S. Funds Only 
California Residents Add 6Vj% Sales Tax 
Shipping — Add 5% plus $1.50 Insurance 
Send S.A.S.E. for Monthly Safes Flyer! 



Spec Sheets — 30c each 
Send $1.00 Postage for your 
FREE 1985 JAMECO CATALOG 
Prices Subject to Change 




I 



ameco 



ELECTRONICS 



VISA' 



1355 SHOREWAY ROAD, BELMONT, CA 94002 
2/85 PHONE ORDERS WELCOME — (415) 592-8097 Telex: 176043 



JE664 EPROM PROGRAMMER 
8K to 64K EPROMS - 24 & 28 Pin Packages 

Completely Sell Contained - Requires No Additional Systems For Operstion 
■ Programs and validates EPROMs ■ Checks for properly erased EPROMs 
• Emulates PROMs or EPROMs ■ RS232C Computer Interface for editing and 
program loading • Loads data into RAM by keyboard * Changes data in RAM 
by keyboard ■ Loads RAM from an EPROM ■ Compares EPROMs for content 
differences * Copies EPROMs * Power Input 1 1 5VAC, 60Hz. less than 1 0W 
power consumption ■ Enclosure: Color-coordinated, light tan panels with 
molded end pieces in mocha brown • Size 15VL x 8**"D x 3VH • Weight 

5*lba. 

The JE664 EPROM Programmer emulates and programs various 8-&I Word EPROMs from BK to 
64K-&I memory capacity Data can be entered into the JE664's internal BK < 8- Bit HAM in three 
ways ( t ) from a ROM or EPROM, |2) from an external computer via the optional JE665 RS232C 
BUS, (3) from its panel keyboard The JE6M's RAMs may be accessed for emulation purposes 
from the panels test socket lo an external microprocessor In programming and emulation, the 
JE664 allows for examination, change and validalton ot program content The JE664S RAMs 
can be programmed quickly to all "f's (or any value), allowing unused addresses in I he EPROM 
to be programmed later without necessity of "UV" erasing The JE664 displays DATA and 
ADDRESS m convenient hexadecimal (alphanumeric) format A DISPLAY EPROM DATA" 
button changes the DATA readout from RAM word to EPROM word and is displayed in both 
hexadecimal and binary code The (root pane! features a convenient operating guide The JE6M 
Programmer includes one JM16A Jumper Module (as listed below) 



JE664-A EPROM Proj 



. $995.00 



Assembled & Tested (Includes JM1SA Module} 

JE665 - RS232C INTERFACE OPTIOII - The RS232C Interface Option « 
computer access to (he JE664's RAM This allows the computer lo manipulate, store am) 
transfer EPROM data to and from the JE664 A sample program listing is supplied in MBAStC for 
CP/M computers- Documentation is provided lo adapt the software lo other computers wrth an 
RS232 port 9600 Baud, B-brt word, odd parity with 2 stop bits 

EPROM Programmer W/JE665 Option 
JE664-ARS $1195.00 

Assembled S Tested Unciudes JM16A Module) 

EPROM JUMPER MODULES - The JE664's JUMPER MODULE (Personality Module) is a 
plug-in Module thai presets the JE664 for the proper programming pulses lo the EPROM and 
configures Ihe EPROM sockel connections tor thai partu n ai FFWiM 



jrjMjj iwpj 



2/16. IMS2516 (Tl> 



Z1V turn, FarcftM. OKI 



JW64C IMS2JM 



BOB I 



Inquiry 161 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 221 



great offers Marketing & Consultants great prices 



MONITORS 



TAXAN 




AMDEK 






»IO< H(,P 


255 


300 Green 


125 


» OC G 




i 15 


300 Amber 


145 


' I! A 


•t<i-' 


125 


MOAmbe< IBM 


159 


nx 


,. | ,E 


?95 


C olo' 300 Audio 


. '< 5 


t * i 


> RGB 


'4 < 


Color 500 Co tip. -•>< 


J79 


i v •: 


IBM 


449 


' olor 600 


54 5 


■ ■ [ ., 


e< ■ irm 


1 45 


OtOl 700 


ni^ 


ZENITH 


149 

82 
' 1 29 


oli . MO 
NEC 

)B 1260 G**h n 


' '* 


■ M 


' t6 't:* • ' 


JB 1201 Grer n 


' »5 00 


> m . 


)B 120! Amber 
K i.'i^t o»or 


1 1* K" 

. -•* 00 


vm ■ 

. M 1 


1 b 
;- Con i 
16 h R< 


■89 

449 
'•89 


}C 1216 RGB 

«C 4 tO CokM 

SAKATA 


399 00 

■ -1 4 H 


GORILLA 




S( lOOColoi 
STSI [in! • ti 


, »9 
1 






» , lMj 


SO 1000 Gfei ■ 








i nh OC 


SA 1000 AvntHi' 


1 09 



MODEMS 






Hayes 


NOVATION 

j f it $84 CX; 


MICROBITS 


Smartmodem 300 $199 00 
Smart modern 1 200 $469 00 
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222 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 191 



SCIENCE 



PARANOIA: A 

FLOATING-POINT 

BENCHMARK 



by Richard Karpinski 



Test the quality of your software, not just its speed 



FLOATING-POINT ARITHMETIC was 
created to make programming easier 
and programs faster. It is complicated 
so that your programs can be simple, 
but rough edges and pitfalls are com- 
mon in floating-point systems. 

The Paranoia benchmark was de- 
signed to find and notify you of those 
places where actual results are not 
good enough. It reports pitfalls 
discovered in a systematic checkout 
of the arithmetic used by the com- 
puter running it. Why Paranoia? 
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 
(Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster 
Inc.. 1983) provides the following as 
its second definition of paranoia: "a 
tendency on the part of an individual 
or group toward excessive or irra- 
tional suspiciousness and distrustful- 
ness of others —an apt description of 
this program, which looks for prob- 
lems at every turn. This article looks 
into the workings of floating-point 
arithmetic to see why you need such 
quality tests and how they work. 

Life Without Floating Point 

Remember those heavy mechanical 
calculators with 10 long rows of keys? 



If you wanted to use measurements 
in fractions rather than whole 
numbers, you could set the decimal 
point somewhere in the middle of the 
field. Numbers could grow or shrink 
on either side of it, but the point itself 
was really fixed. This is enough for 
many hand calculations where you 
need only 5 or 10 steps to get the final 
result. Fixed-point calculations like 
this are simple and match the pencil- 
and-paper methods we learned in 
grade school. They are easy to under- 
stand and use, and they work quite 
well almost all the time. 

Almost is not enough, however. Even 
events that happen quite rarely re- 
quire careful attention when you are 
designing a computer system. 
Because computers are so much 

Richard Karpinski (IEEE p854 Mailings. 
U-76 UCSF, San Francisco, CA 94143) is 
the manager of UNIX services at the com- 
puter center at the University of California 
at San Francisco. With interests in software 
engineering. Modula-2 , and other aspects of 
computer science, Dick has enjoyed being "the 
consultant of last resort" for many in the past 
two decades. 



faster than we are, a system that works 
correctly on 99.999 percent of its data 
can still fail once every second. With 
paper and pencil, if a few numbers 
don't fit within the limits you have 
chosen, you can write smaller or use 
another sheet of paper. Mechanical 
calculators and computers are not so 
flexible. 

If you set up a calculator for 
numbers of the form nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn, 
for example, an intermediate result of 
1 million is hopelessly damaged. 
There is no place to put the digit in 
the millions place. This problem is 
called overflow. There are calculators 
with 20 or 30 digits or even more, but 
you can't really solve the problem this 
way. Long calculations continually re- 
quire you to copy an intermediate 
result from the calculator's dials back 
onto the keys in order to shift it to the 
left or the right to accommodate the 
overflow. The copying process is 
error-prone and tedious for those 
who do it. (Originally, these people 
were called "computers.") 

Very small numbers in this format 
also suffer. Numbers smaller than 1 

[continued! 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 223 



PARANOIA 



one-millionth are lost entirely. They 
underflow to zero. Even numbers as 
large as 1 one-thousandth lose most 
of their significant digits. Only 3 of the 
1 2 digits of precision initially provided 
remain. 

When overflow and underflow prob- 
lems arise in hand calculations, and 
even in many computer applications 



that have tight constraints on hard- 
ware and timing, you can solve them 
by rescaling the numbers— multiplying 
or dividing them by 10, 100, or 1000- 
to bring the number back into view. 
Naturally, you must keep track of each 
scaling operation you perform so that 
you can readjust the final answer 
properly. 



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Features & Price? 

Of course, the 
MultiModem gives you 
automatic dial, answer, 
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Inquiry 227 



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You must also check to see if this 
problem arises at every possible 
place, although such checking makes 
every program longer and more com- 
plicated. This high cost of being ex- 
tra careful must be weighed against 
the fact that the unchecked version 
works most of the time. In fact, you 
may have tested the unchecked version 
with thousands of cases and consider 
it completely debugged. 

In principle, if you know enough 
about the numbers that arise, you can 
build the rescaling shifts into your 
procedure so that they don't take any 
extra effort during the calculation 
itself. This can save up to two-thirds 
of the time that floating-point calcula- 
tions take. John von Neumann, often 
called the father of computing, held 
the view that such a priori analysis 
was the proper approach. He saw no 
need for floating point. However, 
most programmers now agree that 
the analysis required is far too costly 
and error-prone to ignore floating- 
point hardware. 

Scientific Notation 

As researchers and scientists have 
probed the further reaches of our 
world, they have developed scientific 
notation to express very large and 
very small numbers with equal preci- 
sion. For example, 

602,300,000.000,000 

becomes 6.023 x I0 l4 while 

0.000,000,000.000,006,624 

becomes 6.624 x 10"' 5 . The preci- 
sion or uncertainty figures for these 
numbers look very different until you 
express them in scientific notation; 
5.0 x 10 10 for the first versus 
5.0 x 10" 18 for the second. 

When you consider imprecise 
numbers, it is easy to become con- 
fused between absolute uncertainty 
and relative uncertainty— relative to 
the size of the value involved. The 
relative uncertainty here is referred to 
as "half a unit-in-the-Iast-place" or "Vi 
ulp." Since we want computers to 
cope quickly and precisely with a 
wide range of numbers, we adapt the 

[continued) 



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PARANOIA 



scientific notation to the task. You 
don't need to store the "x 10" part 
because it doesn't change between 
various numbers, so you represent 
each number with a fractional signifi- 
cand and a whole-number exponent. 

The rescaling hasn't gone away. The 
"exponent" is the variable in which 
rescaling operations note their ad- 
justments. As you might expect, ex- 
ponents are represented and used in 
different ways— each with its own par- 
ticular problems— and each number is 
rescaled automatically after each 
operation to eliminate any leading 
zeros and to preserve the maximum 
number of significant digits. 

We use decimal notation (radix 10) 
for numbers, but computers usually 
use binary notation (radix 2) to match 
their memory and logic-circuit com- 
ponents. In binary you can, for exam- 
ple, use a significand between Vi and 
1, that is, between 1-over-the-radix 
and 1 . Some computers use hexadec- 
imal (radix 16) instead; their signifi- 
cands can lie between V\ t and 1 . Radix 
2 packs the most range and precision 
into any given word (the number of 
bits devoted to representing a 
number). Radix 10 is also very useful 
because there are no errors introduced 
in moving ordinary decimal numbers 
into the computer. There are errors, 
but there are no new errors. 

If your computer uses six decimal 
digits of precision, you have a pretty 
good idea of what happens to num- 
bers like !4. However many digits you 
type the most precise estimate you 
can ever get is 0.333,333. This con- 
tains a small error— only [ A ulp— but 
this error is inherently present for 
such fractions in any floating-point 
notation. 

There are systems for maintaining 
rational numbers that avoid the prob- 
lem of precision as long as possible 
at a high cost in size and speed. They 
keep two whole numbers to represent 
a fraction— 1 and 3 here— and save the 
division for later. Thus, if l A is later 
multiplied by 3, the threes cancel and 
the answer is exactly 1. Unfortunate- 
ly, in long calculations both of these 
numbers grow unreasonably large all 
too rapidly. Unless your need for high 



precision is very great, this method is 
uneconomical. 

If you multiply 0.333,333 times 3, 
0.999,999 is as close to 1 as you can 
get, given the round-off error of 1 ulp. 
Sometimes you can accept answers 
within several ulps of the best possi- 
ble answer. In this case you must ac- 
cept the 0.999.999 result if you're go- 
ing to use floating point; but, even 
here 0.999,998 is clearly unaccept- 
able because we can do better. 

Round or Chop? 

Some computers offer you the choice 
of rounding off or chopping (trun- 
cating) the result of each calculation. 
Rounding off preserves an extra Yi ulp 
of precision in each step. If the 
numbers are all positive rounding off 
avoids the systematic underestimating 
error that truncation introduces. 

This is an important matter. For ex- 
ample, the Wall Street \ournal reported 
on November 8, 1983 (page 37), that 
the Vancouver Stock Exchange main- 
tains a stock index rather like the Dow 
Jones average. It began with a 
nominal value of 1,000.000 and was 
recalculated after each recorded 
transaction. At each stage the value 
was calculated to five decimal places, 
but the last two were truncated. 

The exchange found that after 22 
months of operation, with about 2800 
transactions per working day, the 
index had fallen to the 520 range 
while stock prices were reaching new 
highs. Investigation showed that all 
those lost fractions of thousandths of 
a point had mounted up to a major 
inaccuracy. 

The solution the exchange planned 
was to round off instead of chop. If 
this was done in the usual way— 01 to 
49 round down, 50 to 99 round up- 
then a consistent error still remains. 
The error is only one percent as large 
as it was and tends to inflate rather 
than deflate the index, so the ex- 
change might even consider it an ad- 
vantage. This new error is that while 
49 of the values round down and one 
stays the same 50 of them round up. 

The point is that even tiny errors, 
when they all go the same way, can 

[continued) 



226 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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62 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 227 



PARANOIA 



do serious damage to numerical 
results. The Paranoia benchmark 
checks your arithmetic to see whether 
rounding is done correctly if at all. 

Guard Digits 

Round-off errors are unavoidable. 
These errors are not mistakes in the 
process but the inevitable result of re- 
stricting the width of floating-point 



numbers. A carefully built arithmetic 
system can round meticulously when- 
ever approximation is required. How- 
ever, in order to round correctly, extra 
(guard) digits are needed temporari- 
ly in the course of ordinary calcu- 
lations. 

Guard digits reduce error. In a four- 
digit system you may need five or 
more digits to maintain accuracy un- 



IEEE Arithmetic and 
Paranoia Availability 



The IEEE has specified a particularly 
careful floating-point arithmetic 
intended to avoid the worst problems 
of the older arithmetics used on com- 
puters. One committee (p754) de- 
signed a very specific binary floating- 
point arithmetic with three sizes of 
numbers. A second working group 
(p854) relaxed some of those specifica- 
tions to permit different sizes of 
numbers and different radixes to be 
used. These IEEE arithmetics are so 
good that Paranoia finds no fault with 
them at all 

An example of IEEE arithmetic is the 
way it avoids the problem of more 
numbers rounding up than down (50 
versus 49): it rounds numbers ending 
in 50 up only half the time, i.e., when 
the previous digit is odd. The rest of 
the time the numbers round down. For 
this reason, the normal IEEE rounding 
mode is called round-to-even. 

The drafts of the IEEE specifications 
are highly technical and quite compact. 
The dozen or so pages require careful 
reading and often some deliberate 
studying to fully comprehend. Still, that 
task is rewarding to those who seek to 
achieve numerical results of the highest 
quality with their programs. 

If you would like a copy of the IEEE 
p7 54 (binary) or p854 (binary and 
decimal) drafts, you may write to the 
author (IEEE p854 Mailings, U-76 
UCSF. San Francisco CA 94143). The 
full Paranoia test program will also be 
available, on floppy disk, for a distribu- 
tion charge of $1 5. The author also has 
order forms for the disk. The floppy 
formats of the Paranoia disk will in- 
clude at least the PC-DOS 9-sector 
5 Va -inch double-sided format. A page 



or two of documentation will help you 
run the program. 

The second, corrected release of 
Paranoia in MS-BASIC should be avail- 
able by this issue's cover date. Versions 
in FORTRAN and Pascal are also ex- 
pected to be ready. Although the 
author of the Paranoia program, Pro- 
fessor William Kahan, is a key member 
of the IEEE Computer Society commit- 
tees, the IEEE does not guarantee the 
program in any way. 

If you request these test programs, 
you will be asked to assist Professor 
Kahan and Mr. Karpinski by reporting 
back the results you get when you use 
them. Please send us your results for 
any system that is either commercial- 
ly available or interesting in its own 
right. You may copy the test program 
freely maintaining its copyright notice, 
and pass it on to your friends. We 
would appreciate their results as well. 

When you run Paranoia, you will get 
several pages of messages about the 
details of the arithmetic So far results 
have been collected on more than six 
different BASIC systems, but some of 
these results are already obsolete. 
Perhaps you can help us to bring them 
up-to-date. We are especially interested 
in hearing about any errors you may 
discover in the tests themselves. We 
would also like to hear of any problems 
you have running or interpreting the 
tests, although we do not promise any- 
thing but our thanks in return. 

A benchmark of this complexity may 
take years to reach its full value to the 
computing community. When enough 
arithmetics have been tested to make 
the results interesting, the authors will 
try to publish them. 



til the result is rescaled. For example, 
1.144 x 10 1 minus 8.336 x 10° really 
needs five digits. Without the extra 
digit this simple subtraction suffers an 
error of 4 to 6 ulps, a serious defect 
that makes numeric programming 
even more difficult and error-prone. 
To illustrate: with the guard digit, 1 1 .44 
minus 8.336 yields 03.104, which 
results in an answer after rescaling of 
3.104 x 10°; without the guard digit, 
1 1.44 minus 8.33 (if truncated) yields 
03.11 for a result of 3.110 x 10° and 
11.44 minus 8.34 (if rounded off) 
yields 03.10 for a result of 3.100 x 10°. 

The need for guard digits becomes 
quite clear, What about your com- 
puter? Often the specific details of the 
arithmetic used on a given computer 
are known only to its designers. Yet 
they are important to programmers 
and other users who want to get 
good, precise, accurate answers. 

Professor William Kahan at the Uni- 
versity of California at Berkeley wrote 
Paranoia for just this reason. Paranoia 
checks many of the arithmetic details 
of your computer. For each aspect 
that is not handled in the best way, 
Paranoia reports what sort of difficulty 
will ensue from its use. 

The full Paranoia program is some 
700 lines of BASIC. Listings 1 and 2 
show an extract sufficient to test for 
the use of a guard digit in addition 
and subtraction. If some part of the 
routine seems confusing, you may 
find it helpful to try a pencil-and- 
paper example with a four-digit sys- 
tem like the one above. These pro- 
grams were simplified from the Pascal 
translation of Paranoia by B. A. 
Wichmann of the National Physical 
Laboratory in England. The full pro- 
gram guards itself against many (rare) 
problems that might possibly arise. 
Full Paranoia also rechecks critical cal- 
culations by a second method, just to 
be sure. 

Test Your Calculator 

You can use essentially the same 
guard-digit procedure to test your 
pocket calculator. Without checking 
for radix, etc., the results of two sim- 
ple expressions will signal the 

[continued] 



228 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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PARANOIA 



Listing I: A Microsoft BASIC program to test for the presence of a guard digit 
in subtraction. Note: fpwidth is the smallest number formed by multiplying one 
by the powers of the radix. \t is calculated by successive multiplications, until the 
product when added to 1 .0 no longer gives an exact result. (Width is a 
Microsoft BASIC reserved word and cannot be used as the variable name.) 



K 

20 
30 

40 
50 
60 
70 
30 
90 
100 
110 
120 
130 
140 
150 
160 
170 
180 
190 
200 
210 
220 
230 
240 
250 
260 
270 
280 
290 
300 
310 
320 
330 
340 
350 
360 
370 
380 
390 
400 
410 
420 
430 
440 
450 
460 
470 
480 
490 
500 
510 
520 
530 
540 
550 
560 



Guard — Test if add/subtract has a guard digit 



One 
Half 
Zero 

MtnusOne 

variables: 

Radix 
Precision 



fpwidth 
Wide 

UlpOne 

UlpRadix 

OneMinus 
RadixMinus 

s, t, u 
x, y, z 



= 1.0 Floating-point constants 

= 0,5 

= 0.0 

= -1.0 



Calculated floating-point radix 
Significant digits in base Radix 

Precision 
Radix (or Radix " Precision) 

First estimate of fpwidth 

Unit in last place of just less than one 
Radix * UlpOne 

One - UlpOne calculated with care 
Radix - UlpRadix 



Working variables 



Find a Wide so big that adding one does not change it by one 
Wide = One 



Wide o Wide + Wide 
x = Wide + One 



x - Wide 
y - One 



Double it until it grows so large that 
Adding one does not change it or 
(with rounding) changes it by 2 
So the difference is zero or 2 
And this becomes + / - one 



IF ( MmusOne + ABS( z ) ) 



Zero THEN 310 



Find the radix (or number base) as the minimum increase in Wide 
Remember that Wide is just large enough that the units place 
is not represented, so a one in the last represented place 
(the tens place, for decimal) is exactly the radix itself. 
Try it by hand. 

y =s One 

Radix = Wide + y ' No change on first addition 

y = y + y So double y 

Radix = Radix - Wide ' Until some change happens 



IF Radix = Zero THEN 480 
PRINT "Radix = "; Radix 



The change is the radix 



230 B YTE • FEBRUARY I985 



PARANOIA 



570 
580 
590 
600 
610 
620 
630 
640 
650 
660 
670 
680 
690 
700 
710 
720 
730 
740 
750 
760 
770 
780 
790 
800 
810 
820 
830 
840 
850 
860 
870 
880 
890 
900 
910 
920 
930 
940 
950 
960 
970 
980 



Find the precision in Radix digits 

Precision = Zero 
fpwidth = One 

Precision = Precision + One ' Count the digits 

fpwidth = fpwidth * Radix ' And increase fpwidth 

y - fpwidth + One Until adding one 

IF ( y - fpwidth) = One THEN 620 ' Is imprecise 

PRINT "Precision ■ "; Precision 

PRINT "fpwidth = "; fpwidth 

UlpOne = One / fpwidth 

PRINT "Closest relative separation found is UlpOne = "; UlpOne 

OneMinus = ( Half - UlpOne ) + Half 
UlpRadix - Radix * UlpOne 

RadixMinus = Radix - One 

RadixMinus = ( RadixMinus - UlpRadix ) + One 

x - One - UlpOne 
y = One - OneMinus 

z = One - x 

s - Radix - UlpRadix 

t = Radix - RadixMinus 
u = Radix - s 

IF y = UlpOne THEN 920 

GOTO 960 

IF t = UlpRadix AND u = UlpRadix THEN 940 

GOTO 960 

PRINT "Add/subtract has a guard digit as it should." 
GOTO 980 

PRINT "Add/subtract lacks guard digit, cancellation obscured." 

END ' Guard 



Listing 2: Pascal program to test for the presence of a guard digit in 
subtraction. 



program Guard; 

const 
One 
Half 
Zero 

MinusOne 

var 
Radix 

Precision 



1.0 

0.5 

0.0 

-1.0 



real; 
real; 



Width 
Wide 



: real; 
: real; 



{ Test if add/subtract has a guard digit 
{ Floating-point constants 



{ Calculated floating-point radix 

{ Significant digits in base Radix 

{ Precision 

{ Radix (or Radix " Precision) 

{ First estimate of Width 



[continued) 



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FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 231 



Inquiry 371 



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PARANOIA 



UlpOne 
UlpRadix 


: real; 
: real; 


OneMinus 
RadixMinus 


: real; 
: real; 


s, t, u 
x, y, z 


: real; 
: real; 



{ Unit in last place of just less than one 
{ Radix x UlpOne 



{ One - UlpOne 
{ Radix - UlpRadix 

{ Working variables 



calculated with care } 
I 



begin {Guard} 
{ Find a Wide so big that adding one does not change it by one. 



Wide : = 


One; 






repeat 








Wide 


= Wide 


+ 


Wide; { 


x 


= Wide 


+ 


One; { 


y 


■ X 


_ 


Wide; { 


z 


= y 


- 


One { 



Double it until it grows so large that } 

Adding one does not change it or } 

(with rounding) changes it by 2 } 

So the difference is zero or 2 | 

And this becomes + / - one } 



until ( MinusOne + abs( z ) ) 



Zero; 



Find the radix (or number base) as the minimum increase in Wide 
Remember that Wide is just large enough that the units place 
is not represented, so a one in the last represented place 
(the tens place, for decimal) is exactly the radix itself. 
Try it by hand. 



y , = One; 

repeat 



Radix 

y 

Radix 



= Wide + y; 

- y + y; 

- Radix - Wide 



{ No change on first addition 



until Radix < > Zero; 

writeln( 'Radix = ', Radix ); 

{ Find the precision in Radix digits 

Precision ; = Zero; 
Width := One; 
repeat 



So double y 

Until some change happens 

The change is the radix! 



Precision 
Width 

y 



= Precision + One; 
= Width * Radix; 
= Width + One 



{ Count the digits 

{ And increase Width 

{ Until adding one 

j Is imprecise 



until ( y - Width ) < > One; j 

writeln( 'Precision = ', Precision ); 

wnteln( 'Width = \ Width ); 

UlpOne : = One / Width; 

writeln( 'Closest relative separation found is UlpOne = \ UlpOne ); 

OneMinus :- ( Half - UlpOne) + Half; 
UlpRadix := Radix * UlpOne; 



[continued] 



232 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Copyright © 1984 Vault Corporation. Prolok is a trademark of Vault Corporation 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 233 



Circuit-Board-Design 
Without the Tedium 



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234 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 33! 



PARANOIA 



RadixMinus := Radix -One; 

RadixMinus := { RadixMinus - UlpRadix ) + One: 

x : = One - UlpOne; 
y:» One - OneMinus; 
z : = One - x; 

s = Radix - UlpRadix; 
t ; = Radix - RadixMinus; 
u : - Radix - s; 

if (y = UlpOne) and (z ■ UlpOne) and 

(t = UlpRadix) and (u = UlpRadix) 
then 

writeln( 'Add/subtract has a guard digit as it should.' ) 
else 

writeln{ 'Add/subtract lacks guard digit, cancellation obscured.' ) 

end {Guard}. 



presence or absence of a guard digit. 
If their results are equal, the guard 
digit is present. Otherwise, it is prob- 
ably not. Those expressions are 

1 - ( 9 / 27 * 3 ) 



and 

1/2 - ( 9 / 27 * 3 ) + 1/2 

For four-function calculators without 
parentheses or memory, you can use 



- 9 / 27 * 3 + 1 
and 

- 9 / 27 * 3 + .5 + .5 

A smaller test in Pascal could be: 

if(- 9/27 *3 + 1 ) - 

(- 9/27 * 3 + .5 + .5) 
then writeln( Add/subtract has a 

guard digit.' ) 
else writeln( Add/subtract lacks 

guard digit.' ) 

Conclusion 

Paranoia is an unusual benchmark: it 
tests the quality of your software, not 
just its speed. Most common com- 
puter arithmetics have a half-dozen or 
more flaws that Paranoia finds, report- 
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FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 235 



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238 BYTE • FEBRUARY I985 



Inquiry 22 I 



SCIENCE 



MODELING 

MASS-ACTION 

KINETICS 



by Alan Curtis 



In the future, microcomputers may have a substantial role 
in major scientific computations 



AT THE UNITED KINGDOM Atomic 
Energy Research Establishment, Har- 
well, we have assembled scientific and 
technological applications of our FAC- 
SIMILE reaction-kinetics program. All 
can be run on one mainframe or an- 
other, but for the purposes of this ar- 
ticle I have selected a few of those 
that now run on an IBM PC with 512K 
bytes of RAM (random-access read/ 
write memory). 

Like other simulation modelers such 
as DYNAMO, FACSIMILE facilitates 
the calculation of a set of differential 
equations that describe the con- 
tinuous evolution of a system from a 
known initial configuration and then 
flexibly formats the output. 

Simulation models solve problems 
repeatedly and carry out thorough 
statistical analyses to find the best fit 
among parameters. For such work, 
whether the microcomputer is prac- 
tical depends on your point of view. 
A fairly large program that takes, say, 
three minutes on an IBM mainframe 
might well run all night on the PC pro- 
vided you use an 8087 math copro- 
cessor; without it, running time would 
probably be about 10 times longer 



(this is a guess— we haven't checked 
it out). 

Let's take a look at several examples 
of how simulation models can be 
used. 

Uranium from Seawater? 

Seawater contains uranium, an ex- 
tremely valuable fuel, at an extreme- 
ly low concentration. Suppose we 
want to extract the uranium. The 
question is whether an economically 
viable extraction process exists. We 
might try pumping the seawater 
through an ion-exchange column, a 
tube tightly packed with minute 
spheres of a resin that preferentially 
absorbs uranium ions from solution 
and replaces them with ions of an- 
other metal. When sufficient water 
has been pumped through, the col- 

Alan Curtis leads the Applied Mathematics 
Group in the Computer Science and Systems 
Division at the U.K. Atomic Energy Research 
Establishment, Harwell He is a graduate of 
Cambridge and a former lecturer at the 
University of Sheffield. He can be reached 
at AERE, Harwell Didcot, Oxfordshire 
0X11 OR A, England. 



umn is removed and cut up, and or- 
dinary chemical means remove the 
uranium (now at high concentration in 
the resin) for further processing. Ob- 
viously the value of the recovered 
uranium must offset the costs of 
manufacturing the resin and the 
tubes, of the pumping power, and of 
the postprocessing to recover the 
uranium from the resin. 

A feasibility study of the problem 
called for a simulation model because 
the rate coefficients for the absorp- 
tion of uranium by the resin were not 
known. Experiments removed sup- 
posedly identical ion-exchange col- 
umns at different times, pumped dif- 
ferent rates of seawater, and analyzed 
uranium contents at various points 
along the columns. Parameter-fitting 
options might have determined the 
best fit for these experimental results. 

As it turned out, variations in prop- 
erties, mainly the density of packing 
of the resin from one column to 
another, and even along the length of 
a single column, invalidated the 
model, which assumed a single 
uniform column. A more complicated 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 239 



MODELING 



model might have involved some of 
the variability, but the experiments 
had shown that the whole process 
was not likely to be economical 
anyway. 

Such negative results are not fail- 
ures in scientific investigations. On the 
contrary, we understand far better the 
requirements for the simulation if we 
decide to pursue it again. 

A modified model, now used for 
demonstration purposes, contains 
parameter values chosen to exhibit 
significant saturation. (There are other 
rays of solving the problem of model- 
ing an ideal ion-exchange column if 
you know that saturation is negligible.) 

To model the behavior of the col- 
umn, we divided its length into 20 
equal-size sections. One array of 20 
variables represents the concentra- 
tion of uranium in the seawater in 
each section, a second array 



represents the concentration in the 
resin, and a third array checks for 
saturation by monitoring available ab- 
sorption sites in the resin. The simula- 
tion models the flow of seawater by 
passing material from one element of 
the array to the next at a rate reflect- 
ing the time it takes for the water to 
move the length of a section. 

The first element receives material 
with the concentration in the incom- 
ing water; the last element sends 
material to a "waste" variable. The 
simulation of the exchange process 
between solution and resin uses 
modeling features for chemical reac- 
tions; a second-order reaction be- 
tween corresponding elements of the 
first and third arrays represents ab- 
sorption, and a first-order reaction 
represents the reverse process, The 
program runs on the IBM PC in about 
5 50 seconds (compared with 2.5 sec- 



PIOTTING PARAMETERS FOR GRAPH STREAM 2 

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE :DIST (PLOTTED VERTICALLY) 

DEPENDENT VARIABLES (PLOTTED HORIZONTALLY): 

X SCALE I. 00000 -08 X 

Y SCALE 1.0000D-04 Y 

S SCALE 1.0000D-04 S 

0.5 1 

1.000D+00 I Y I I I IS XI 

3.000D+00 I Yl I I IS XI 

5. 00 00 + 00 I Y-l t I -I-S X I 

7.000D+00 I Y I I I I S X I 

9.000D+00 I Y I !- I I S I 

1.1 00+ 01 I Y I I I I XS I 

1. 3000 + 01 I Y I I I IX S I 

1.S0 0D + 01 I Y-- I I -I XI--S-- I 

1.700D+01 I Y I I I X I S I 

1 .Q00D+01 I Y I I I X I S I 

2.100D+01I Y I I I X I S I 

2. 3000+01 I Y I I I X I S I 

2.5000 + 01 I Y I - I •« I ---X I ---s----- I 

2. 7000+01 I Y I I IX IS I 

2.<S00D + 01 I Y I I IX I S I 

3.100D+01 I Y I I IX I S I 

3.300D+01 I Y I I X I S I 

3.5000 + 01 I Y I I XI I S I 

3.7000+01 I Y I I XI I S I 

3. 9000 + 01 I Y I ! XI I S I 



Figure 1: A snapshot graph from the ion-exehange-column problem. 



onds on the IBM 3081 K). so that even 
a parameter-fitting run, which ex- 
ecutes several dozen simulation runs, 
could be done overnight on the micro. 
It is fair to say that this investigation 
could have been done on the PC from 
the beginning. 

The model provides three types of 
output: "snapshot" graphs, which 
show how the concentrations vary 
along the column at any time; "time- 
course" graphs, which illustrate how 
integrated quantities, such as the total 
uranium trapped in the resin, vary 
with time; and tables of numbers that 
give more accurate time histories of 
these integrated quantities. Figure 1 
is a snapshot graph from this prob- 
lem. By plotting the independent vari- 
able (distance along the column) 
along the y-axis and the dependent 
variables along the x-axis, a printer 
can plot graphs of any length. Points 
X represent the concentration of 
uranium in solution, multiplied by 
100,000,000; points Y represent con- 
centration in the resin, multiplied by 
10,000; points S represent available 
sites, multiplied by 10,000. 

Starting up a 
Chemical Reactor 

In a 1981 thesis for Imperial College, 
London, I. T Cameron proposed this 
chemical-engineering problem. It is 
much simpler than the others de- 
scribed here, but in practice it had 
proved difficult to solve. 

Initially a chemical reactor contains 
neutral gas. A pump starts to supply 
liquid feedstock through an inlet 
valve, compressing the gas and re- 
ducing the flow from the pump 
because of back pressure. A chemical 
reaction takes place in the vessel, and 
product mixed with unused feed- 
stock, driven by the gas pressure and 
the liquid head, flows out through an 
outlet valve. In time the system 
reaches a steady state, but the main 
focus of the simulation is the start-up 
transient. Results of interest include 
the peak gas pressure and tempera- 
ture (for vessel design) and the loss 
of unused feedstock and substandard 
product. The model includes the ef- 

(continued) 



240 BYTE * FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 223 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 241 



MODELING 



PLOTTING 

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fect of pressure on inlet and outlet 
flow rates as well as the progress of 
the reaction, the depth of the liquid, 
and the thermodynamics of the gas. 
Output consists of time-course 
graphs and tables of numbers. The 
graphical output (see figure 2) illus- 
trates an interesting phenomenon 
that occurs fairly often. There is a long 
transient before the approach of the 
steady state, but the initial transient 
is very fast. To study the initial part ef- 
fectively, it is necessary to plot many 
points at small time intervals. Graphs, 
therefore, have the independent 
variable (time in this case) plotted 
downward and the dependent vari- 
ables plotted from left to right; thus 
(with continuous paper) there is no 
limit to the length of the plotted 
graph. However, if the PC screen dis- 
plays the graph as it is produced, only 
about 2 5 lines are shown at a time, 
so a printer is essential. 

Death of a Star 

When a typical "main sequence" star 
has been burning and radiating 
energy away for a few billion years, it 
has transmuted all of its original 
lighter elements into carbon and oxy- 
gen and must enter a carbon-burning 
phase. During this time, the internal 
pressure needed to support the star's 
weight against its own gravitational at- 
traction has required high density and 
temperature which in turn make the 
star opaque to radiation. 

According to Planck's law, the star 
radiates at a rate determined by its 
surface area and temperature. There- 
fore, when the star's lighter elements 
are exhausted and its energy from 
nuclear reactions becomes inade- 
quate to support its weight, it starts 
to contract under gravity; this in- 
creases its internal temperature until 
it reaches about 1 billion degrees 

[continued) 

Figure 2: A time-course graph from 
Cameron's reactor problem. A = 
concentration of feedstock: B = 
concentration of an intermediate {on larger 
scale): P = concentration of product: 1 = 
inlet flow rate: 2 = outlet flow rate. 



242 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 187 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 243 



MODELING 



Generation of smog 
in urban areas is a 
complex phenomenon 
that involves numerous 
reactions among over 
100 trace gases 
in the atmosphere. 



Kelvin. This temperature is sufficient 
to cause carbon nuclei to begin fus- 
ing together to form heavier elements. 
This carbon-burning process supplies 
the necessary energy to make further 
gravitational contraction unnecessary. 
If the star is an ordinary one— not 



too big—the temperature generates 
enough pressure to keep the star 
stable until the carbon is exhausted. 
The temperature and density do not 
rise further, and the carbon-burning 
phase takes place relatively slowly, in 
conditions of hydrostatic equilibrium. 
In a more massive star, however, the 
pressure is inadequate, contraction 
continues, the temperature and den- 
sity continue to rise, and carbon burn- 
ing proceeds explosively fast; the star 
becomes a supernova. In either case, 
the phase is extremely short in rela- 
tion to the earlier leisurely history of 
the star; typical durations may be a 
week or two for an ordinary (less 
massive) star or about a second for 
a supernova. 

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for both the hydrostatic and the ex- 
plosive carbon-burning phases. In 
both cases, the set of nuclear reac- 
tions is the same, but the rate coeffi- 



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cients depend on temperature and 
density, variables that vary with time 
in a way determined by the stellar 
dynamics. To model the hydrostatic 
version, temperature and density are 
kept constant and rate coefficients are 
computed only once, at the start of 
the run. For the supernova version, 
temperature and density are defined 
as functions of time, and the rate coef- 
ficients are frequently recalculated 
during the run. 

The coding of the nuclear reactions, 
although they are numerous, is rela- 
tively easy because their structure is 
exactly that of chemical reactions. 
Protons, neutrons, neutrinos, alpha 
particles, and 36 heavier nuclides are 
simulated. 

A run of the hydrostatic version takes 
about 8200 seconds (2.3 hours) on the 
PC, compared with about 2 5 seconds 
on the IBM 3081K. This is a larger 
speed ratio than average— about 
330:1— but we may be able to improve 
the performance. The supernova ver- 
sion takes about 67 seconds on the 
3081, so we expect it to take about 
22,000 seconds (say, 6 hours) on the 
PC. Output consists of time-course 
graphs of the mass fractions of the 
various nuclides, plotted on loga- 
rithmic scales for time and for the 
mass fractions, and of tables giving 
numerical values for the mass fractions 
as functions of time. The graphs show 
clearly the stages at which the various 
nuclides are produced or used up; in 
many cases, this occurs in straight lines 
on the log-log plot, indicating mass 
fractions proportional to a (positive or 
negative) power of the time 

Photochemical Smog 
Generation 

The generation of photochemical 
smog in urban areas is an extremely 
complex phenomenon that involves 
numerous reactions among well over 
100 trace gases in the atmosphere. 
Important elementary steps in the 
process involve the breaking of 
chemical bonds when a molecule ab- 
sorbs solar radiation; these steps 
switch off rapidly as sunset ap- 
proaches and switch on equally fast 

{continued) 



244 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 174 



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Inquiry 292 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 245 



MODELING 



at dawn. Rate coefficients also de- 
pend on smaller day/night variations 
such as temperature and water vapor 
content. Thus the behavior of the 
chemistry during the night is quite dif- 
ferent from that during the day, and 
the switching processes are technical- 
ly difficult for many differential- 
equation solvers to handle. 



The model of this process is by far 
the largest and most complicated of 
those described here. The model in- 
volves a total of 300 reactions among 
13 5 chemical species; the data oc- 
cupies about 620 lines of code. The 
model also requires larger working 
arrays than the others, but it can 
be fitted into 470K bytes of RAM. 



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Simulating 50 hours of real time (thus 
seeing how much greater the pollu- 
tion is on the second day than the 
first) takes about 1 10 seconds on the 
IBM 308 IK; we are not yet able to run 
it on the PC, but we might expect a 
speed ratio similar to that for the 
astrophysical problem. It is thus at the 
limit of practicability on the PC (at pre- 
sent) so far as running time is con- 
cerned, but it is interesting that the 
model would still run faster than real 
time. Simulation of the second 24 
hours takes about one-third of the 
total time, and we would expect sub- 
sequent days to run at approximately 
this speed. 

Output consists mainly of time- 
course graphs, which illustrate clearly 
the buildup with afternoon peaks and 
nighttime troughs, in the concentra- 
tions of the important pollutants. 

Conclusion 

I have presented only a few of the 
many scientific and engineering appli- 
cations that are practicable on a micro 
like the IBM PC with 51 2 K bytes of 
RAM and an 8087 math coprocessor. 
I hope, nevertheless, that I have con- 
veyed a feel for what I am sure has 
a very big future—the use of micro- 
computers for major scientific compu- 
tation. ■ 

For Further Information 

For information on some specific 
microcomputer simulation modelers, 
contact: 

Atomic Energy Research 

Establishment 
Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX 11 
ORA, England (FACSIMILE) 

Pugh-Roberts Associates Inc. 

5 Lee St.. Cambridge, MA 02139 
(Micro-DYNAMO) 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
I would like to thank the United Kingdom 
Atomic Energy Research Establishment, 
Harwell, for permission to publish the 
materia! about FACSIMILE contained in 
this article; and I would also like to thank 
my colleagues Philip Sweetenham and 
Kevin McPherson for providing me with 
information about the test runs they 
executed. 



246 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 300 






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■ The 136 can be used for viewing single shot events, or 
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in memory mode which permits acquisition and storage of up to 
50-100 bit waveforms. These can be recalled, logically com- 
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will also accept future add-on 136 Modules. 

■ Its very low cost, convenience and ease-of-use make the 
LogicScope the ideal instrument, for designing, troubleshooting 
or repairing digital systems. Made in U.S.A. 

Inquiry 2 52 



Consider its Engineering & Field Service Applications: 

■ On microprocessor-based systems, check the timing rela- 
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other key events. Its storage capability allows visual and logi- 
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Contact us for the name of your local distributor 



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FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 247 





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With ASYST, data acquisition and analysis 
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Now acquire, analyze. 

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ASYST. The most powerful 
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248 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



ASYST gives you the speed and 
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can pull information through 
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Inquiry 192 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 249 



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SCIENCE 



VIEWING 

MOLECULES WITH 

THE MACINTOSH 



by Earl J. Kirkland 



A BASIC program provides 3-D images 
of complex molecules 



RESEARCHERS HAVE GAINED valu- 
able insights into how molecules work 
by examining the basic physical struc- 
tures of the molecules, which in part 
determine their functions. Scientists 
have learned, for example that the 
physics of electronic conduction in a 
silicon crystal is influenced by the 
basic symmetries of the crystal. 

The relative physical sizes and 
shapes of two molecules may also in- 
fluence the rate at which they interact 
chemically (since for two chemicals— 
i.e., atoms or molecules— to interact, 
they must first come into contact with 
each other). This is the case with a 
particular class of biochemical sub- 
stances called enzymes, which are re- 
sponsible for controlling the rate of 
biochemical activity without them- 
selves being changed (i.e., they are 
biological catalysts). The size and 
shape of the enzyme molecule in- 
fluences which other biochemical 
substances (molecules) may bind to 
it and hence be influenced by it. 

We can gain some understanding of 
the basic functions of molecules by 
examining the size and shape of a 
given molecule using either a real 



physical model or a computer-graph- 
ics representation of the molecule. 
References 1,2, and 3 give some ex- 
amples of graphic representations of 
molecular structure and their useful- 
ness in understanding molecular 
function. 

Molecules are far too small to be 
seen with optical microscopes, and 
electron microscopes are just becom- 
ing capable of directly imaging a few 
specialized types of molecules. Most 
of the molecular structures that we 
know today have been determined by 
X-ray diffraction studies of large 
crystals. A crystal can be thought of 
as a very large single molecule com- 
posed of a small structure of a few 
atoms repeated many times. This 
repetitive nature allows researchers to 
analyze many identical molecules at 
one time and obtain a reasonable 
"signal-to-noise" ratio in the results. 

Earl J. Kirkland (Cornell University, Ithaca, 
NY 14853) holds a doctorate in applied 
physics and is a research associate at Cornell's 
School of Applied and Engineering Physics. 
His work involves computer image processing 
of electron micrographs. 



X-ray diffraction patterns cannot be 
directly interpreted but require a com- 
puter to digest the diffraction pattern. 
The computer outputs a sequence of 
numerical data describing the three- 
dimensional (3-D) positions of the 
atoms inside the molecule. This 
numerical data is rather difficult to 
understand without further reduction. 
Simple structures with only a few 
atoms may be intuitively visualized 
from the raw numerical data, but the 
more interesting or important struc- 
tures often contain hundreds of 
atoms, each with its own numerical 
coordinate (x,y,z). Intuition is inade- 
quate for complicated structures such 
as these 

Before the advent of computer 
graphics, researchers had to go 
through the elaborate process of 
building 3-D models of each molecule 
for futher study Because this molec- 
ular-structure data is often generated 
by a computer, it is a practical alter- 
native to also let the computer draw 
a 3-D perspective view of the mole- 
cule using computer graphics. 

Computer graphics is a powerful 

[continued] 



« — Inquiry 315 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 251 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



tool for visualizing the structure of 
large molecules in three dimensions. 
Sophisticated (and expensive) com- 
puter hardware and software systems 
for displaying molecules and crystals 
in 3-D perspective are discussed in 
references 4 and 5. 

The Apple Macintosh has enough 
resolution and speed to draw 3-D 
perspective views of relatively large 
molecules and to rotate them in space 
(not in real time but fast enough to be 
interactive). Although not as good as 
the more sophisticated systems 
(several of which are discussed in 
references 4 and 5), the Macintosh is 
certainly less expensive and can pro- 
vide quite usable and educational 
results. MODEL3D, a program written 
in Microsoft Macintosh BASIC 1.0 and 
designed to run on the 128K-byte 
Mac, is capable of displaying up to 
600 atoms in three dimensions, with 
hidden-surface removal, and azimuth- 
al and polar rotations (these terms are 
defined below). 

Molecules 

For the purposes of this discussion, 
think of a molecule as a group of 
atoms that are bound together in a 



well-defined structure. Each molecule 
has a given number of one or more 
different types of atoms and each 
atom has a specific 3-D coordinate 
associated with it. A molecule may be 
as simple as two atoms or as com- 
plicated as the DNA molecule with its 
thousands of atoms. The atom-to- 
atom spacing varies from one 
molecule to the next and is deter- 
mined by the chemistry and physics 
of the bonds. Typical atomic spacings 
are on the order of a few angstroms 
(1 angstrom = 10~ 8 centimeters). 

Each atom in the molecule or crystal 
has a further substructure consisting 
of a small nucleus of positive charge 
(protons and neutrons) surrounded by 
a larger, negatively charged electron 
cloud. The outer electrons in this 
cloud form the actual bond to the 
neighboring atoms. The radius of the 
atom (i.e., the electron-cloud radius) 
varies from one type of atom to the 
next. (Typically, atomic radii are on 
the order of 1 angstrom.) This atomic 
structure may be modeled graphical- 
ly as a slightly fuzzy sphere whose 
radius is the radius of the electron 
cloud. The specific 3-D coordinate of 
the atom is associated with the center 



x.z PLANE (CRT VIEWING SCREEN) 



VIEWING POSITION 



4T-*s^ 




-VIEWING DISTANCE D 



y<0 



Figure I: A perspective view of a three-dimensional object as projected onto a 
two-dimensional CRT screen. The point (x.,y,z) i represents the center of a 3-D sphere, 
and (x,z). represents the projected screen coordinates. 



or nucleus of the atom. Therefore, to 
describe a whole molecule all you 
need is a list containing the 3-D coor- 
dinate and size of each atom in the 
molecule. This will be represented as 
the coordinates (x,y,z) ( - and atomic 

sizes (or radii) s it for 1=1,2,3 n. 

where n is the total number of atoms 
in the molecule. 

Rotation 

Once you have the list of atomic coor- 
dinates inside the computer, you can 
rotate the atomic structure to any 
angle prior to viewing it. In three 
dimensions there are two possible in- 
dependent rotations about a given 
center (or any other given point). They 
will be referred to as an azimuthal 
rotation (about the z-axis) and a polar 
rotation (about the x-axis). To 
azimuthally rotate the molecule about 
its center point (x,y,z) through an 
angle 0, you must transform each 
atomic coordinate [x.y.z)i as: 

xi = (x,-x o )cos(0) + {y t -yo)sin(<t>} 

y; = -(x,— x o )sin(0) + (y,— y )cos(<M 

and to rotate through a polar angle 
0, you must transform each atomic 
coordinate as: 

y/' = y/cos{0) + (z,— z o )sin(0) 

Zi = -tj/sin(0) + (z £ - Zp)cos(fl) 

The computer uses the new result- 
ing rotated coordinates (x',l/",z') ( to 
calculate the 3-D perspective view of 
the molecule. For convenience you 
may define the center of rotation 
(x,y,z) to be halfway between the 
minimum and maximum extent of the 
molecule (along each axis). 

3-D Perspective 

To display a molecule in 3-D on a 
computer screen, the light coming 
from the two-dimensional CRT 
(cathode-ray tube) screen must be 
made to appear as if it comes from 
a three-dimensional object (i.e., the 
molecule). One way to do this is il- 
lustrated in figure 1 (see also refer- 
ences 4 and 6). The human observer 
is in the "viewing position" at a 
distance D from the CRT screen, 
which is illustrated as a two-dimen- 



252 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



sional x.z plane, seen from the side. 
Projected on this "screen" is a 3-D 
molecule of which one atom has the 
coordinates (x.y.z),-. 

We then trace several light rays from 
the viewing position through the 
three-dimensional-object points. The 
points where these rays intersect the 
CRT plane is where the object should 
be placed when drawn on the CRT 
screen. By comparing similar right 
triangles formed with the viewing 
position, the y-axis, and either the 
(x.y,z) t or (x,z) is points, we can calculate 
the screen coordinates as: 

x is -Dx t l(D-y t ) 

and 

Zi^DzJiD-yi) 

In practice the leading multiplica- 
tive factor of D will be dropped 
because the screen coordinates will 
be rescaled later to fill the screen. The 
apparent size of each atom should 
also be scaled as above so that the 
atoms appear smaller as they get fur- 
ther away. 

In realistic 3-D perspective some 
atoms will be in back of other atoms 
and hence should not be visible. This 
is the so-called "hidden-surface prob- 
lem." An easy, if crude solution is to 
simply sort the atoms by depth and 
draw from the back forward, always 
overwriting each successive layer of 
atoms. When each successive atom is 
drawn it exactly overwrites the por- 
tion of the object that it would nor- 
mally obscure. This is the approach 
I have used here. 

The Program 

I have implemented the theory out- 
lined above in MODEL3D (listing 1). 
a program written in Microsoft BASIC 
for the Macintosh. | Editor's note: The 
source code for MODEL3D is available for 
downloading via BYTEnet Listings. The 
number is (603) 924-9820.] The pro- 
gram first asks for the name of the 
data file containing the atomic coor- 
dinates of the molecule you wish to 
draw. You can obtain this information 
from college-level chemistry or 
physics textbooks, or from the 

(continued) 



Listing I: The Source listing of MODEL3D, a Microsoft BASIC 1.0 program 
to draw 3-D perspective views of molecules. 



•** MODEL3D.BAS *** 
Draw a 3D perspective view of a molecule with rotation 
For private, noncommercial use only. 
©E. Kirkland 4-JUL-84, added printer distortion 9-SEP-84 

NOTE: Remember to shrink command window to lower left 
hand corner so that the lower right side of screen is visible 



10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 DEFINT l-N:DEFSNG 0-Z:DEFSNG A-G 
100 DIM IE(4),IP(12),X(600) 1 Y(600),Z(600),S(600) 
110 ' 

120 ' Define shading bit patterns for sphere 
1 30 IP(0) = &H441 1 :IP(1) = IP(0):IP(2) = IP(0):IP(3) = IP(0) 
1 40 IP(4) - &H55AA:IP(5) = IP(4):IP(6) = IP(4):IP(7) - IP(4) 
1 50 IP(8) = &HFFFF:IP(9) = IP(8):IP(10) = IP(8):IP(1 1) = IP(8) 
160 ' 

1 70 ' Ask what to do 
180 CLS:INPUT "Data file name : ".FILES 
190 INPUT "Azirn., polar angles : ", PHIJHETA 
200 INPUT "Viewing distance : M ,VIEWD:!NPUT "Size mag. : ",SMAG 
210 INPUT "Type 1 for printer:" JPRINT 
220 ' Printer distortion correction factor 

230 IF IPRINT=1 THEN DISTORT = 1.094 ELSE DISTORT=1! 
240 TIM# = TIMER 

250 PHI = PHI*3.14159/180!:THETA = THETA*3.14159/180! 
260 CP - COS(PHI):SP = SIN(PH!):CT = COS(THETA):ST = SINfTHETA) 
270 ' 

280 ' Read atomic coordinates from data file and scale 
290 OPEN FILES FOR INPUT AS #1 

300 XMIN - 1 E + 25:XMAX = - XMIN:YMIN = XMINYMAX = XMAX 
310 ZMIN = XMfN:ZMAX = XMAX:N = 
320 WHILE NOT EOF(1) 
330 N = N + 1 

340 INPUT#1,X{N),Y(N),Z(N),S(N) 
350 IFX(N)>XMAXTHEN XMAX = X(N) 
360 IF X(N)<XMIN THEN XMIN = X(N) 
370 IF Y(N)>YMAX THEN YMAX = Y(N) 
380 IF Y(N)<YMIN THEN YMIN = Y(N) 
390 IF Z(N)>ZMAX THEN ZMAX = Z(N) 
400 IF Z(N)<ZMIN THEN ZMIN=Z(N) 
410 WEND 
420 PRINT N "atomic coord." 

XMIN = .5*(XMAX + XMIN):YMIN = .5*(YMIN + YMAX) 
ZMIN «. 5*(ZMIN + ZMAX):PRINT "Rotating..." 



430 
440 
450 
460 
470 



Rotate molecule around its center 
FOR 1 = 1 TO N 
480 XA = X(I)-XMIN:YA = Y(I)-YMIN 
490 X(I) = CP*XA + SP*YA:Y(I)= -SP*XA + CP*YA 
500 YA = Y(I):ZA = Z(I)-ZMIN ' 
510 Y(I)-CT*YA + ST*ZA:Z(I)» -ST*YA + CT*ZA 
520 NEXT l:PRINT "Sorting..." 
530 ' 

540 ' Sort by depth (shell sort) 
550 IGAP = INT(CSNG(N)/2!) 
560 WHILE IGAP> = 1 
570 FOR l = IGAP+1 TO N 
580 FOR J = I - IGAP TO 1 STEP - IGAP 
590 JG = J + IGAP 



(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 * BYTE 253 



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VIEWING MOLECULES 



600 IF Y(J)< =Y(JG) THEN GOTO 640 

610 SWAP X(J),X(JG):SWAP Y(J),Y(JG) 

620 SWAP Z(J),Z{JG):SWAP S(J),S(JG) 

630 NEXT J 

640 NEXT I 

650 IGAP = INT(CSNG(IGAP)/2!) 

660 WEND 

670 ' 

680 ' For perspective projection and scale coordinates 

690 SCALE = -1E + 25:SMAX = SCALE 

700 FOR 1 = 1 TO N 

710 YA = 1 !/(VIEWD - Y(I)):X(I) = X(I)*YA:Z(I) = Z(I)*YA:S(I) = S(I)*YA 

720 IF SCALE <ABS(X(I)) THEN SCALE = ABS(X(I)) 

730 IF SCALE <ABS(Z(I)) THEN SCALE = ABS(Z(I)) 

740 IF SMAX<S(I) THEN SMAX = S(I) 

750 NEXT l:SCALE = 110!/(SCALE + .5*SMAX*SMAG) 

760 SCALEX = SCALE* DISTORT 

770 ' 

780 ' Plot shaded circles (emulating spheres) 

790 FOR 1 = 1 TO N 

800 IX = FIX(X(I)*SCALEX + 350!): IY = FIX(Z(I)*SCALE + 130!) 

810 IR = F!X(S(l)*SCALE*SMAG):IRX = IR*DISTORT 

820 GOSUB 880 

830 NEXT I 

840 PRINT TIMER-TIM* " sec" 

850 CLOSE#1:END 

860 ' 

870 ' Sphere plotting subroutine using Quickdraw FILLOVAL 

880 IE(0) = IY - IR:IE(1) = IX - IRX:IE(2) = IY + IR:IE(3) = IX + IRX 

890 CALL FILLOVAL(VARPTR(IE(0)),VARPTR(IP(0))) 

900 IR2 = .8*IR:IRX2 = .8*IRX 

910 IE(0) - IY- IR2:IE(1 ) = IX - IRX2:IE(2) = IY + IR2:IE(3) = IX + IRX2 

920 CALL FILLOVAL(VARPTR(IE(0)),VARPTR(IP(4)J) 

930 IR2 = .65*IR:IRX2 = .65*IRX 

940 IE(0) = IY-IR2:IE(1) = IX-IRX2:IE(2) = IY+IR2:IE(3) = IX + IRX2 

950 CALL FILLOVAL(VARPTR(IE(0)),VARPTR(IP(8))) 

960 RETURN 



crystallographic technical literature, 
Wyckoff's six-volume series (see 
reference 12) offers an encyclopedic 
tabulation of many molecular struc- 
tures. [You can also make up your own coor- 
dinates, following the format below, to experi- 
ment with the program.] 

Prepare the data file using MacWrite. 
As shown in the example in figure 2, 
each line of the file represents one 
atom in the molecule and has four 
numbers. The first three numbers of 
each line are the (x,y,z)i coordinates 
of the fth atom and the fourth number 
is the size or atomic radius of this 
atom. These numbers may be in any 
convenient set of units as long as all 
the numbers are in the same units. 
Note that MacWrite sometimes leaves 
several blank lines at the end of the 
file that must be deleted. You must 



also save the file as "text-only" in- 
stead of the default "entire-docu- 
ment." 

Alternatively, if the molecule is a 
crystal, you can generate a data file 
containing the atomic coordinates for 
it by programming the rules for the 
repetitive structure of the crystal in a 
separate BASIC program, as 1 did for 
the crystal silicon (see below). 

After asking you for the name of the 
data file, the program asks for the 
rotation angles (in degrees), the view- 
ing distance (D in figure 1; in the same 
units as the atomic coordinates and 
sizes), the atomic-radius size mag- 
nifier (this can be used to expand or 
contract the apparent size of each dis- 
played atom; to get the normal size 
from the input file, type 1), and finally 

{continued) 



254 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 255 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



0,0,0, .15 

. 5 , , . 5 , . 1 5 

0, .5, .5, .15 

■ wj i J j i i ■ 1 D 

rJ| 1 j • J j i 1 J 

1 ,.5, .5, .15 
.25, .25, .25, .15 
.25,. 75,. 75,. 15 
.75, .25, .75, .15 
.75, .75, .25, .15 
0,0,1, .15 
0,1,0, .15 
0,1,1, .15 
1,0,0, .15 
1,0,1, .15 
1 ,1 ,0,.15 
1,1,1, .15 



Figure 2: A sample data file showing the three-dimensional coordinates for one unit 
cell of silicon. This was generated by the program in listing 2. 



Listing 2: A Microsoft BASIC program to generate the three-dimensional 


coordinates for a silicon lattice. 


10 


1 -***SIGEN.BAS *** 


20 


' Generate a Silicon lattice of Nx, Ny, Nz unit cells 


30 


■E. Kirkland 15-SEP-84 


40 


DEFINT l-N:DEFSNG A-G.O-Z 


50 


INPUT "Generate Nx,Ny,Nz Silicon unit cells : ",NX ( NY,NZ 


60 


INPUT "Output file name : ".FILES 


70 


OPEN FILES FOR OUTPUT AS #1 :SIZE = .15 


80 


FOR IX = 0TO NX 


90 


FOR IY = 0TO NY 


100 


FOR IZ-0TO NZ 


110 


WRITE#1,IX,IY,IZ,SIZE 


120 


IF (IX = NX) OR (IY = NY) OR (IZ = NZ) GOTO 230 


130 


WRITE#1,IX + .5,IY+.5,IZ,SIZE 


140 


WRITE#1,IX + .5,IY,IZ+.5,SIZE 


150 


WRITE#1JX,IY + .5,IZ + .5 t SIZE 


160 


WRITE#1,IX + .5,IY + .5,IZ + 1,SIZE 


170 


WRITE#1JX + .5,IY+1,IZ + .5,SIZE 


180 


WRITE#1 ,IX + 1 ,IY + .5,IZ + .5,SIZE 


190 


WRITE#1 ,IX + .25, IY + .25JZ + .25,SIZE 


200 


WRITE#1 ,IX + .25, IY + 75JZ+ .75.SIZE 


210 


WRITE#1 ,IX + .75,IY + .25.IZ+ .75, SIZE 


220 


WRITE#1 ,IX + .75, IY + 75JZ+ .25,SIZE 


230 


NEXT IZ 


240 


NEXT IY 


250 


NEXT IX 


260 


CLOSE#1:END 



A circle appears 
elliptical printed 
with the Imagewriter. 



whether the drawing is to be printed. 
The Apple Imagewriter printer has a 
slightly different aspect ratio than the 
screen, so that a circle on the CRT 
screen appears slightly elliptical when 
printed. The program can apply a 
predistortion to the drawing (multi- 
plying the x coordinate by 1.094) so 
that it will appear normal when you 
print it. 

The program then reads from the 
data file until it encounters an "end- 
of-file" (EOF) condition (the total 
number of input lines determines the 
total number of atoms in the mole- 
cule). An "Input Past End" error in- 
dicates that the data file contains 
extra characters. 

After reading in the atomic coor- 
dinates and size data, the program 
rotates them about the center point 
and sorts them by depth using the 
Shell sort method (see references 7, 
8, and 9). The program then projects 
these new coordinates into the view- 
ing screen coordinates with a 3-D 
perspective and scales them. If at this 
point the program signals, "Out of 
Memory;' type CLEAR, 20000 and 
run the program again. 

The final portion of the program 
draws a sphere at each of the pro- 
jected atomic coordinates, from the 
back forward, to fulfill the hidden- 
surface requirements. The "sphere" is 
drawn using three QuickDraw FILL- 
OVAL calls with different shading pat- 
terns (see Appendix E of the 
Microsoft BASIC 1.0 manual). The first 
call draws a light-gray circle filling the 
whole atomic radius, the second 
draws a dark-gray circle with a slight- 
ly smaller radius, and the third draws 
a black circle with a still smaller 
radius. The net effect is a shaded cir- 
cle that looks like a sphere. For a print- 
out of the drawing, use the print- 
screen (Shift-Command-4) command. 

{continued) 



256 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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VIEWING MOLECULES 



Note that if two atoms are located 
at exactly the same depth (distance 
from the viewer), this program will ar- 
bitrarily draw one atom in front of the 
other. (Obviously this will make a dif- 

* File Edit Control 

M0DEL5D.BRS 



ference only if the atoms are close 
enough to each other so that their 
radii overlap.) This problem will prob- 
ably not be significant in most cases 
and may be easily overcome by 



Data file name SIL1CON2 DAT 

Azirii,. polar angles : 0,0 

Viewing distance : 7 

Size mag. . 1 

Type 1 for printer. 1 

10? atomic coord 
Rotating... 

Porting... 

39 sec 






Command m 



□ 



W"mm 
mmntf 

#■#§• 





Figure 3: A 3-D perspective view of 2- by 2- by 2-unii cells of a silicon lattice. 
The data file was generated by the program in listing 2. 



* File Edit Control 

M00EL50.BAS 



Data file name : SI LI CON 2 DAT 
Azim,. polar angles 45,0 
Viewing distance : 7 
Size mag 12 
Type 1 for printer: 1 

107 atomic coord. 
Rotating.. 
Sorting... 

40 sec 







Command 



□ 



Figure 4: Another 3-D perspective view of the 2- by 2- by 2-unit cell structure 
in figure 3. 



258 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



VIEWING MOLECULES 



rotating the molecule so that one 
atom is slightly in front of (or behind) 
the other. A proper solution to this 
problem is beyond the scope of this 
exercise. 

Examples 

As I mentioned above, a crystal may 
be thought of as a single large 
molecule whose structure is a simple 
pattern repeated many times. Silicon 
forms a crystal structure with a basic 
repeat distance of 5.43 angstroms. It 
is composed of two interpenetrating 
face-centered cubic (fee) lattices (see 
references 10 and 1 1), with one fee lat- 
tice offset from the other by 
( l AMM) x 5.43 angstroms. There are 
roughly 6.2 5 x 10 18 unit cells per 
cubic millimeter of silicon. Large 
crystals of silicon in this form (with 
suitable treatment) are commonly 
used to make the vast majority of in- 
tegrated circuits in use today. For ex- 
ample, the Motorola 68000 processor 
used in the Macintosh is made out of 
a single crystal of silicon. Listing 2 
shows SIGEN, a short Microsoft 
BASIC 1.0 program that generates a 
data file of the positions of the atoms 
in crystalline silicon. The data file in 
figure 2 was produced by SIGEN and 



contains the coordinates for one 1- by 
1- by 1-unit cell of silicon. Figures 3 
and 4 show computer-graphic repre- 
sentations of the crystal, with two 
slightly different orientations: the face 
of the cube (figure 3) and an edge of 
the cube (figure 4). Note the slight 
slope (like a roof of a house) visible 
in figure 4. The vertical edge in the 
center is nearer to the observer than 
the two outer edges on the left and 
right and hence appears larger (taller) 
than the outer edges in 3-D perspec- 
tive Note the characteristic symmetry 
of silicon that the graphic represen- 
tation reveals. 

Figure 5 is a computer-graphic rep- 
resentation of the aspirin molecule, 
whose structure is given in reference 
12. The chemical formula for aspirin 
is (HOOC)C 6 H 4 -OC(0)CH 3 . I have ar- 
bitrarily depicted the hydrogen atoms 
with a small radius to distinguish them 
from the other atoms in the molecule. 
The aspirin molecule has a large hex- 
agonal carbon structure (benzene) on 
the bottom and clusters of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen on the top. 

Conclusions 

Computer graphics offers a conve- 
nient way to visualize three-dimen- 



* File Edit Control 





M00EL30.BBS 




Data file name : ASPIRIN.DAT 






Azim., polar angles : - 160/45 
Viewing distance : 2 
Size mag . 9 
Type 1 for printer 1 

21 atomic coord. 
Rotating... 
Sorting 


WKm fHft 




1 1 sec 


mm. 








3 #• 




HI Command ^^ 




1 






: 







Figure 5: 3-D perspective view of the aspirin molecule. 



sional structures of molecules as an 
aid to understanding the behavior of 
the molecules. The Apple Macintosh 
computer is capable of displaying a 
graphic representation of fairly com- 
plex molecules. Although there are 
large computer systems that can pro- 
duce better graphic representations, 
they are beyond the price range of 
most individuals. The Macintosh gives 
a spectacular performance in relation 
to its cost. Even though MODEL3D is 
written in interpreted BASIC, most of 
the actual graphics is done by the 
Macintosh ROM via the QuickDraw 
subroutine. Hence, the program runs 
relatively fast. These built-in graphics 
routines make the Macintosh very 
useful for this application. ■ 

REFERENCES 

1. Bechgaard, K., and D. Jerome. "Organic 
Superconductors." Scientific American, July 
1982, pp. 52-61. 

2. Ptashne, M., A. D. Johnson, and C. O. 
Pabo. "A Genetic Switch in a Bacterial 
Virus." Scientific American, November 1982, 
pp. 128-141. 

3. Dickerson, R. E. "The DNA Helix and 
How it is Read." Scientific American, 
December 1983, pp. 94-111. 

4. Foley, J. D, and A. Van Dam. Fundamen- 
tals of Interactive Computer Graphics. Reading. 
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982, plate 15. 

5. Greenberg, D., A. Marcus, A. H. 
Schmidt, and V Gorter. The Computer Image: 
Applications of Computer Graphics. Reading, 
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982, pp. 58-59. 

6. Newman, W. M., and R. F. SprouII. Prin- 
ciples of Interactive Computer Graphics. 2nd ed. 
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979, pp. 
339-342. 

7. Shell, D L. "A High Speed Sorting Pro- 
cedure." CACM 2, 7 (July 1959) pp. 30-32. 

8. Rich. R. P. Internal Sorting Methods Illustrated 
with PL/1 Programs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 
Prentice-Hall, 1972. 

9. Kernighan, B. W„ and P. J. Plauger. Soft- 
ware Tools. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 
1976, p. 106. 

10. Ashcroft N. W., and N. D Mermin. Solid 
State Physics. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & 
Winston, 1976, p. 106. 

11. KitteJ. C. Introduction to Solid State Physics. 
4th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1971, 
pp. 30, 31. 

12. Wyckoff, R. W G. Crystal Structures: Vol 
6, Part 1 , The Structure of Benzene Derivatives. 
2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 
1951, pp. 234-235. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 259 



IT ALL ADDS UP... 



IBM SYSTEMS 

Starting as low as 

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KEYBOARD 





PC COMPATIBLES 
m % SANYO 



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Inquiry 67 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 261 







Lotus 1-2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. 

Symphony is a trademark of Ashton Tate 

Frame Work is a trademark of Ashton Tate. 

dBase II is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation, 

Wordstar is a trademark of Micropro International. 

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THE MANUAL: is a trademark of Management Information Source, inc 



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Inquiry 368 



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(Corporate discounts available.) 



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3543 N.E. Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97232 



SCIENCE 



LABORATORY 
INTERFACING 



by Lincoln E. Ford, M.D. 



A medical researcher examines the capabilities and limitations 
of an important laboratory device 



ALMOST ALL LABORATORY com- 
puter applications can be described 
as one of the following functions: (1) 
control of experiments, including tim- 
ing and synchronizing external events 
and setting external voltages; (2) data 
acquisition, usually through the digital 
conversion of analog electrical sig- 
nals; (3) data storage; and (4) data 
analysis. While data storage and 
analysis make computers most ap- 
pealing in the laboratory, these func- 
tions are common to most computer 
applications. The functions that make 
laboratory applications different from 
other computer uses are the first two, 
control of experiments and data ac- 
quisition. The following discussion is 
directed at these two areas. The two 
functions together require five distinct 
hardware components: analog-to- 
digital (A/D) converters, digital-to- 
analog (D/A) converters, digital input- 
output (I/O) ports, counters, and an ac- 
curate frequency generator. This 
discussion is developed from my ex- 
perience with a hardware device that 
provides all five functions. 

A/D Conversion 

In a typical application, analog signals 
from some electronic device are 



sampled and converted to digital data 
at regular intervals. Usually sampling 
continues for some well-defined 
period. The sampling may progress at 
different speeds at different times. For 
example it is frequently desirable to 
record high-speed events that occur 
within the setting of lower-speed 
events. To record both types of events 
with an analog recorder (an oscillo- 
scope or chart recorder), it is usually 
necessary to make two recordings, 
one at a high speed and one at a low 
speed. Using a computer, it is relative- 
ly simple to record a single input at 
different speeds. 

Analog-to-digital conversion is 
perhaps the most critical of labora- 
tory applications because errors at 
this step will greatly distort the data. 
It is also frequently the function that 
most taxes the speed of the com- 
puter. Speed at this stage is some- 
times limited by the A/D converters, 

Lincoln E. Ford, M.Q, is an associate pro- 
fessor of medicine and cardiology at the 
University of Chicago (Cardiology Section, 
Department of Medicine, University of 
Chicago, 950 East 59th St., Chicago, IL 
60637). His hobbies include gardening and 
skiing. 



but more often it is limited by soft- 
ware. Ultimately, the software is 
limited by the design of the computer, 
but more frequently it is limited by 
having to perform some other task 
concomitantly. One such task is the 
generation of control pulses during 
A/D sampling. 

In many instances the initiation of 
an A/D recording must be synchro- 
nized with the experiment. Instead of 
having an external device initiate the 
A/D conversion sequence, it is tempt- 
ing to have the computer control the 
experiment at the same time that it 
is collecting data. An additional ad- 
vantage of this combined approach is 
that the data collection is very ac- 
curately synchronized to the experi- 
mental procedure. The difficulty with 
this approach is that it requires the 
computer to perform two tasks at 
once. This can call for some relative- 
ly sophisticated programming, par- 
ticularly when high speeds are neces- 
sary. 

Interface Boards 

There are several commercially avail- 
able devices that will perform at least 
four of the five functions required for 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 263 



LABORATORY INTERFACING 



the laboratory applications described 
above. Several of my colleagues and 
I bought the LabMaster board made 
by Tecmar because it provides all five 
functions and because it was the first 
one available. It also costs less than 
more recent devices. It consists of a 
motherboard that fits into the IBM PC 
and a daughterboard that houses the 
A/D converters outside the computer. 
This arrangement isolates the incom- 
ing analog signals from electrical in- 
terference inside the computer. 

The Data Translation Company 
makes a similar board that has the 
capability of direct memory access 
not available on the LabMaster but 
does not have the Tecmar board's 
progammable counters. We preferred 
the Tecmar board in part because we 
wanted to put out logic pulses to con- 
trol the experimental apparatus while 
collecting data with the A/D converter. 
The five programmable counters 
simplify this task because they 
operate independently of the central 
processing unit of the host computer. 
The counters can be programmed to 
begin counting the same frequency 
pulses that trigger the A/D conver- 
sions. When they have completed 
their count they toggle their external 
outputs without intervention from the 
computer. Thus, the logic pulses are 
synchronized exactly to data acquisi- 
tion without interfering with the high- 
speed operation of the central 
processor. 

When very high speeds are not re- 
quired, the digital I/O port can be 
used for applications control. Al- 
though most commonly used as a 
single interface to other digital equip- 
ment, the individual channels in the 
port can be used separately to con- 
trol different pieces of apparatus. In 
addition, these channels can be con- 
figured to accept logic pulses from 
the apparatus, thereby allowing a 
bidirectional interaction. 

A final way of controlling experi- 
ments is to use the D/A converters to 
set voltage levels for external devices. 

Possible Improvements 

In spite of our general satisfaction 
with the Tecmar board, we found 



several areas that need improvement, 
both in the LabMaster and in the 
other devices that are available. As ex- 
plained in John Mertus's letter to 
BYTE ("Data Collection with an IBM 
PC" October 1984. page 14), the 
absence of direct memory access on 
the Tecmar board severely limits this 
board in multitasking operations. 

The cable connections could be 
greatly improved. Tecmar sells a set 
of cables for external connections to 
the board, but they are simply that- 
bare cables. Users must make their 
own interfaces. We have made an in- 
terface box with BNC connectors for 
each connection, and while we were 
at it, we put in some buffer chips to 
protect the digital I/O ports. Several 
other manufacturers supply slightly 
less primitive connections for their 
devices, but at best these consist of 
screw terminals for bare wires. I do 
not know of many laboratory scien- 
tists who relish the thought of bring- 
ing their signals out on bare wires. 
Any manufacturer who supplied a 
device with an interface having stan- 
dard connectors such as BNCs and 
well-protected inputs would find a 
ready market. 

There is one improvement related 
to signal processing that I would 
especially like to see. This is the ad- 
dition of filters to the analog inputs 
of the A/D converters. It is well known 
that no information can be derived 
about the frequency components of 
a digitized signal that are greater than 
half the sampling frequency. Noise 
and oscillations in the signal that are 
faster than the sampling frequency at 
best decrease the signal-to-noise 
ratio. In many cases, faster signals in- 
troduce "aliasing." spurious low- 
frequency oscillations that result from 
sampling a high-frequency oscillation 
at systematically different parts of its 
period. Although filters generally in- 
troduce lags in electronic signals, the 
lags introduced by antialiasing filters 
are likely to cause far less signal 
distortion than will high-frequency 
oscillations. The antialiasing device 
should consist of a low-pass filter with 
a sharp cutoff frequency near the 
sampling frequency The main argu- 



ment against such a filter is that the 
sampling frequency varies widely, 
sometimes within the same record, so 
that the cutoff frequency must be 
made to vary in the same way. The 
solution to this problem is to use an 
integrator that averages the signal be- 
tween sample intervals. A. F. Huxley 
and G. L. Reed recently described a 
clever circuit that performs this 
averaging (see "An Automatic 
Smoothing Circuit for Input to Digitiz- 
ing Equipment," journal of Physiology, 
volume 292, 1979, page IIP). It is trig- 
gered by the same clock pulse that 
triggers the A/D conversions, so that 
its cutoff frequency always varies with 
the sampling frequency. 

A major way in which A/D con- 
verters could be improved is by the 
use of separate converters for each in- 
put channel and the use of on-board 
data buffers. Most computer-con- 
trolled multichannel devices have a 
single A/D converter with a multi- 
plexer that switches different channels 
into it. Only one channel is converted 
at a time, so that the samples in each 
channel are displaced in time relative 
to those in other channels. This time 
displacement can cause a systematic 
error when the data from one chan- 
nel is plotted as a function of that in 
another. The samples from different 
channels can be brought into coin- 
cidence either by using separate A/D 
converters for each channel or by 
holding the signals from all channels 
in sample-and-hold circuits that are 
triggered when the first channel 
begins its conversion. The advantage 
of separate converters and on-board 
data buffers is that they increase the 
speed of operation while effecting the 
synchronization. 

Computer Considerations 

Your choice of interface board has an 
effect on the size of the central pro- 
cessor and data bus needed. Most 
data is collected from 10-, 1 2-, or 
16-bit A/D converters, so one A/D 
conversion will require a 2-byte word. 
In a machine with a 16-bit bus (a true 
16-bit computer) entire words can be 
moved at once. In a smaller computer 

{continued) 



264 B YTE • FEBRUARY [985 




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Inquiry 343 



FEBRUARY I985 'BYTE 265 



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LABORATORY INTERFACING 



having an 8-bit bus, words must be 
moved in two sequential steps. This 
need to make two-step transfers great- 
ly slows most of the computer's oper- 
ation. Since most time-critical opera- 
tions involve data transfers along the 
bus. this slowing occurs at a very 
vulnerable stage. Although a true 
16-bit computer transfers data twice 
as fast as an 8-bit machine, it does not 
follow that a 32-bit computer would 
be still faster in handling integer data. 
Since integer data occurs in 2-byte 
words, increasing the bus size to 32 
bits would not produce any increase 
in speed unless some way could be 
devised to move two words at once. 
The 16-bit machines available today 
are therefore as large as many opera- 
tions require. 

A question related to size is 
whether it is better to have several 
small, single-purpose computers or 
one large, multipurpose machine. My 
own preference is for the former. A 
major consideration is cost. In addi- 
tion, the failure of a single computer 
in a group does not incapacitate the 
entire laboratory in the way that the 
failure of a single large computer 
does. Another advantage of a group 
of computers is that each can be 
dedicated to a single task. Even with 
the best multitasking arrangements, 
there will always be some time-critical 
operation that requires the uninter- 
rupted use of the computer, forcing 
other users to wait. With multiple 
computers such interactive interrup- 
tions do not occur. 

The main disadvantage of small 
computers is that they are slow. This 
disadvantage is usually more than off- 
set by the ability to dedicate the 
machine to a specific task for an ex- 
tended period. 

The IBM PC Compromise 

In spite of the negative considerations 
about the 8-bit bus, my colleagues 
and I bought several IBM PCs for use 
in the laboratory. We selected this 
computer rather than a true 16-bit 
machine because of its popularity. 
Many peripherals and programs are 
available for it, and we felt that it 
would not go out of production near- 



ly as quickly as some of the other, less 
popular models. 

We have found the PC to be as good 
as or better than expected in almost 
all areas except for one peculiarity: 
the absence of a limited interrupt or 
a software-controllable wait state. 
Once an A/D conversion is made, a 
flag consisting of one bit in a status 
register is set. The computer must 
then detect the flag and take the 
digital data from the converter. The 
PC can detect the flag in only two 
ways: polling the status register or 
generating a full interrupt. A full inter- 
rupt, together with its return, requires 
83 clock cycles. This many cycles 
would take more than 20 microsec- 
onds (fis) just to detect the flag. Poll- 
ing takes substantially less time. Using 
a polling routine, we have written se- 
quential A/D sampling programs that 
operate at a rate of 22 ^s per conver- 
sion. Over half that time is spent poll- 
ing the status register. If a more rapid 
way of detecting the flag could be 
devised, this routine could operate at 
more than twice the speed. If the cen- 
tral processor could be put in a wait 
state immediately before each A/D 
conversion and be released by the 
'A/D done" flag, detection of the con- 
version would be virtually instan- 
taneous. An otherwise-similar com- 
puter that had such a capability would 
be able to accept A/D conversions 
about every 10 jis. 

Software 

Software is the most crucial part of 
any laboratory system. Clever pro- 
gramming can introduce great flex- 
ibility and compensate for many defi- 
ciencies in hardware. Poor program- 
ming can hobble even the best sys- 
tem. The time required to develop 
good programs should not be under- 
estimated. Many of us have bought a 
piece of equipment that was physical- 
ly capable of performing some 
desired task only to find that weeks 
of programming were required to 
make it work. For those of us who 
have had this experience, there is no 
stronger selling point for equipment 
than the concomitant availability of 
adequate programs to run it. ■ 



266 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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268 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 36 



SCIENCE 



INTERFACING FOR 

DATA 
ACQUISITION 



by Thomas R. Clune 



A comparison of three interfaces 



THE USE OF MICROCOMPUTERS for 
data acquisition in the sciences is sur- 
prisingly limited. It is widely recog- 
nized that the need for such applica- 
tions exists. But I discovered in my ex- 
perience at Brandeis University that 
most researchers have either had bad 
experiences with data acquisition on 
minicomputers or simply don't feel 
that they have the time to learn what 
they would need to know to retool 
their labs. Nonetheless, the advan- 
tages of computerizing are so sub- 
stantial that microcomputer-based 
data acquisition is slowly moving into 
the lab. In this article I'll share some 
of my experience with different ap- 
proaches to computerizing data ac- 
quisition. Since I find the IEEE-488 to 
be the most versatile option for 
laboratory data acquisition, I will 
devote a fair amount of time to ex- 
plaining that interface. My hope is that 
my experience may ease the prob- 
lems that you might encounter in 
computerizing your setup. 

The Problem 

There are three basic reasons why 
microcomputers are so important in 



the context of data acquisition. First, 
for a minicomputer or mainframe to 
be affordable, its use must be shared 
by more than one person, but in data 
acquisition it is crucial to have the 
computer's attention when the data 
is ready. Microcomputers make single- 
user systems affordable. Second, 
mainframe computers are generally 
not located in the laboratory. Thus, in 
any but very low speed data-acquisi- 
tion contexts, there is a communica- 
tions bottleneck created by the data 
transmission. Third, there is no com- 
mon standard for interfacing with 
laboratory instruments on main- 
frames, so each laboratory setup pre- 
sents substantial and individual prob- 
lems of design and implementation 
that exacerbate the financial and 
logistical difficulties. 

At least one other concern is fuel- 
ing the drive toward computerization 

Thomas R. Clune is a BYTE technical editor. 
Before coming to BYTE, he was the physical- 
chemistry lab coordinator at Brandeis Univer- 
sity, where he taught data acquisition by 
microcomputer. He can be contacted at POB 
372, Hancock. NH 03449. 



in the lab: The cost of turnkey instru- 
ments has become so high that most 
institutions are unable to afford the 
state-of-the-art equipment needed to 
conduct research. This is particularly 
irritating because most instruments in 
the sciences have essentially the same 
components. You end up paying over 
and over again for a built-in chart 
recorder, a waveform digitizer, a 
monochrometer, a photomultiplier, 
etc. And when the new generation of 
an instrument comes out with a 
broader dynamic range or some other 
improvement in one component, the 
entire turnkey instrument must be re- 
placed. We simply can't afford to pay 
for research done that way any more. 
With the availability of microcom- 
puters, we don't have to. We can tie 
chart recorders, waveform digitizers, 
and whatever else we need together 
into a dedicated instrument and re- 
cycle the components as the field or 
our research evolves. 

A/D Converters 

The least expensive way to automate 
a lab is with an analog-to-digital (A/D) 

{continued} 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 269 



INTERFACING 



The speed of a 



transient tracked 
by D/D equipment 
is not limited by the 
computer's throughput. 



converter. There are, however, a 
number of limitations to this ap- 
proach. First, an A/D converter 
samples only one voltage source at 
a time. Typically an experiment re- 
quires correlating one reading to 
others for the same instant of time 
(e.g., pressure versus temperature at 
time t). If the time requirements are 
sufficiently lax, that is, if readings 
taken 10 or 20 microseconds apart 
can be treated as simultaneous, an 
A/D converter may be acceptable. But 
often this time lag is sufficient to make 
the data hopelessly imprecise. The 
second problem with A/D converters 
is that they are slow. The maximum 
sampling rate on most "high-speed" 
A/D converter boards is 100 kilohertz 
(kHz). Practically speaking, this means 
that you can't track a transient of 
greater than approximately 20 kHz. 
Much of scientific data acquisition 
now requires at least the ability to 
track a transient of a few megahertz. 
A third problem with A/D converters 
is that, because the boards are made 
to be inexpensive, their linearity is not 
very good. A 12-bit board may have 
an effective resolution of only 7 or 8 
bits. Finally, A/D converters are very 
susceptible to noise in a lab. Com- 
monly the cabling will be either 
twisted-pair or ribbon cable— very 
good antennae. In a well-designed 
board, the cabling is simple coax, 
which may still not give the level of 
noise immunity required in a labora- 
tory environment. 

Nonetheless, an A/D converter is a 
good buy if it will do your task. My 
feeling is that the best use of an A/D 
converter is to connect it to the chart 
output of a stand-alone instrument. 



Instead of junking a high-quality 
analog instrument in the interests of 
modernizing, use the capabilities 
available in your lab now. One big ad- 
vantage of this kind of setup is that 
you can use a very slow A/D con- 
verter. This is desirable for two 
reasons: first, a slow A/D converter 
will be better made than a compar- 
ably priced high-speed board, and 
second, since you will only need a 
30-Hz-or-so A/D converter, most noise 
in the lab will be too fast for the A/D 
converter to respond to it. Further, 
your low-pass filter will be able to cut 
out line voltages, which are an in- 
evitable source of noise in any lab. 

D/D AND RS-232C 

If an A/D converter won't meet your 
needs, you need stand-alone instru- 
ments that can transfer digital infor- 
mation to the computer via a digital- 
to-digital (D/D) interface. The first ad- 
vantage of D/D over A/D is that data 
may be analyzed at high speed and 
the digital "snapshot" of the analysis 
stored in a buffer of a few kilobytes 
on the stand-alone instrument. The 
buffer data can then be downloaded 
to the computer at whatever speed 
the interface will support. That is, A/D 
conversion necessarily requires real- 
time analysis, whereas the speed of 
a transient that can be tracked by D/D 
equipment is not limited by the micro- 
computer's throughput. Of course, 
speed of data transfer is still impor- 
tant because it determines how quick- 
ly the instrument can repeat an 
analysis. 

D/D interfaces come in two flavors: 
serial, which transfers information a 
bit at a time; and parallel, which trans- 
fers data a word (commonly one byte) 
at a time. The most common serial 
port is an RS-232C interface. 

There is a lot to dislike about the 
RS-232C First, it is not standard. 
There are two ends to an RS-232C in- 
terface: the DTE (data-terminal equip- 
ment) end and the DCE (data-commu- 
nications equipment) end. Often the 
two instruments you want to hook 
together will both be configured as 
DTEs, so you will probably have to 
create a cable that matches your par- 



ticular setup once you find out what 
it is. Second, the only handshaking 
provided is on the level of whole 
messages. The interface does not 
verify that data has been received 
before proceeding. It is very easy to 
lose data on this interface. Third, 
RS-232C is a notoriously noisy inter- 
face—perhaps no worse than an A/D 
converter, but that isn't saying much. 
Fourth, RS-232C is slow. Since it sends 
only one bit at a time, it has a built-in 
speed disadvantage over parallel in- 
terfaces. And interference is an in- 
creasing problem with increasing 
transmission rates (as is true of any 
system). Finally, RS-232C is able to 
connect only two devices together. 
Thus, coordination and control of 
multiple data sources requires more 
than one RS-232C port on the com- 
puter and makes for devilishly difficult 
software integration. 

The strong points of RS-232C are 
twofold. First, it is capable of transmit- 
ting information over long distances 
by telephone. Second, it is the only 
interface available on some older in- 
struments. If you have to use it, you 
learn to live with it. But you'll never 
learn to love it. 

IEEE-488 

The IEEE-488 is a byte-serial, bit- 
parallel interface that overcomes the 
problems of the interfaces outlined 
above. First, the interface is incredibly 
resistant to interference. For example 
at the Brandeis University chemistry 
department, we used the interface in 
a pulsed-nitrogen-Iaser experiment 
and found that the data transmission 
was unaffected by noise in any en- 
vironment where the computer itself 
was able to function. Figure 1 shows 
the physical layout of the cable that 
provides such excellent noise 
immunity. 

The second virtue of IEEE-488 is 
that the interface has a bus structure. 
That is, you can interface up to 15 
devices at a time using the same 
board. This structure simplifies pro- 
cess control and allows true simulta- 
neous data acquisition, as we shall 
see presently. 

{continued) 



270 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 271 



INTERFACING 



Third, the interface is fast for a 
micro. Data can be transferred at up 
to 1 million bytes per second (using 
special tristate drivers on the lines) 
and without any special care will sup- 
port transmission rates of about 2 50K 
to 300K bytes per second using DMA 
(direct memory access). 

Fourth, the interface is standard and 
widely available. All IEEE-488 instru- 
ments are plug-compatible, and the 
interface is available on every major 
kind of laboratory device. Over 2000 
devices are currently available with an 
IEEE-488 interface. Given that the 
standard was not set in its current 
form until 1978 and that there is a lag 
between specification and implemen- 
tation, the rapid adoption of the stan- 
dard gives an indication of how sore- 
ly needed it was. 

The primary limitation of the stan- 
dard is that the total cable length on 
an installation cannot exceed 20 
meters without special (and expen- 
sive) repeaters. In practice, you will 
seldom need to exceed that length. 
And given that long cabling slows 
transmission rates and is more 
susceptible to noise, you generally do 



better to keep the cabling short 
anyway. 

The Standard Explanation 

The IEEE-488 standard is relatively in- 
volved because it accommodates a 
wide variety of uses. In the rest of this 
article, I'll examine the standard and 
then take a close look at a setup using 
the interface. 

IEEE-488 began life as the General- 
Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) of the 
Hewlett-Packard Corporation. In 1975, 
the IEEE adopted the GPIB as its stan- 
dard. Some minor modifications were 
made to the standard in 1978, but 
IEEE-488 still goes by the name GPIB 
on HP products. 

Devices on the interface may per- 
form three kinds of functions. They 
may be talkers; that is, they may 
transmit data to other devices on the 
interface. Of course, there can be only 
one active talker at any given time. 
Alternatively, a device may be a 
listener— it may receive data or in- 
structions from another device on the 
interface. There may be more than 
one active listener on the interface at 
any given time. And a device may act 



as a controller, a coordinator of which 
device may talk when and which 
devices may listen. Finally a device 
may do nothing but stand by. A 
device may, at different times, assume 
any of the above functions. 

The interface supports two modes 
of operation: command and data. As 
the name suggests, the command 
mode is for process control. For ex- 
ample, if one of the devices on the in- 
terface is a digital multimeter (DMM), 
the controller may program the DMM 
for reading DC voltages in the 3-volt 
full-scale deflection range. In the data 
mode, data is transferred from talker 
to listener(s) over the interface. 

The interface has 24 lines, 8 of 
which are ground lines. The other 16 
are divided into three groups: 8 bi- 
directional data lines, 3 data-byte con- 
trol lines (handshake lines), and 5 
general interface-management lines. 

The three-line handshake protocol 
functions as follows: When informa- 
tion is going to be transferred over the 
bus, the listeners must be ready to 
receive the data. If they are not, they 
signal NRFD (not ready for data) by 

[continued) 




CABLE INSULATION 

WOVEN GROUND OUTER SLEEVE 

DAV 

TWISTED-PAIR rh 

NRFD 

TWISTED-PAIR ft? 

NDAC 

TWISTED-PAIR ft? 

WOVEN GROUND INNER SLEEVE 



DATA LINES 



REN 




EOI 




rh 




SRQ 




TWISTED-PAIR 


rh 


ATN 




TWISTED-PAIR 


rh 


IFC 




TWISTED-PAIR 


rh 



Figure I: Cutaway view of an IEEE-488 cable. Notice the large number of grounds for shielding. 



272 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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INTERFACING 



pulling the NRFD line low (low is 
defined as true by the IEEE-488 stan- 
dard). The NRFD line has an open- 
collector design, so if any one listener 
is not ready the line is kept low. When 
all the listeners are ready, the NRFD 
line goes high. If the talker is ready 
to transmit data, it sets the DAV (data 
valid) line low. The transition of the 
DAV line triggers the resetting of the 
NRFD line and the listeners pick up 
the latched byte of data. When each 
listener receives the data, it releases 
the NDAC (not data accepted) line, 
which is also open-collector. When all 
listeners have received the data, the 
NDAC line goes high, causing a reset 
of the DAV line, which in turn triggers 
the resetting of the NDAC line. This se- 
quence, outlined in figure 2, is 
repeated for each byte in a transmis- 
sion. It may not be immediately ap- 
parent why three lines are useful in 
this sequence. At first glance it ap- 
pears that the DAV and NDAC line 
would accomplish everything neces- 
sary for the transmission of data. 
However, the NDAC line is released as 
soon as the IEEE-488 board of the 
listener has received the data. The in- 
formation must still be downloaded 
from the IEEE-488 data register to, for 
example, the computer's main mem- 
ory to be stored more permanently. 
By releasing the talker as soon as the 
data has been transferred, the talker 
becomes free to prepare the next 
byte for transmission at the same time 
that the listeners are "digesting" the 
last byte, so the rate of information 
transfer may be maximized. The 
NRFD line is thus necessary to pre- 



vent the possibility of a listener's data 
register being prematurely overwrit- 
ten. 

Since each byte of data transferred 
is a self-contained event on the inter- 
face there must be some way of sig- 
naling the end of a data-transfer se- 
quence. This may be done in two 
ways. The one I will mention here is 
to use one of the bus-management 
lines, the EOI (end or identify) line. 
When a talker sets this line it signals 
that the data-transfer sequence is 
complete. 

The "identify" in EOI applies to the 
controller's use of the line. If the in- 
terface is to be used for process con- 
trol, there must be a way for the con- 
troller to monitor the "fitness for 
duty" of the various devices. One way 
it may do so is by conducting a 
parallel poll of the devices. If the con- 
troller asserts ATN (attention) and 
EOI, each device responds by using 
one data line to say whether or not 
it has any problems. If one does, the 
computer (the controller) can query 
that device further to determine the 
precise nature of the difficulty. The 
limitation of a parallel poll is that the 
controller must initiate the inquiry. 
IEEE-488 also provides for a serial 
poll, in which a device in trouble may 
alert the controller that all is not well 
by asserting SRQ (service request). 
The computer then can ask each 
device in turn what its status is to 
determine the source and nature of 
the problem. 

ATN serves another, more general 
purpose as well. Any time the con- 
troller asserts ATN, it can change the 




Figure 2: The logic flow of the IEEE-488 handshake squence. low is true. 



function of a device from, say, talker 
to listener. When ATN is asserted, the 
board goes into the command mode. 
All subsequent information is control 
data. In general, control information 
will apply to only some of the avail- 
able devices. How is the information 
restricted to only the appropriate 
devices' attention? Each instrument 
on the interface can be assigned a 
unique 5-bit address, generally by DIP 
(dual-inline package) switches on the 
backplane of the instrument. Valid ad- 
dresses are numbers up to and includ- 
ing 30. When the computer wants to 
address its control data to a specific 
set of devices, it asserts ATN and out- 
puts a list of the appropriate address 
numbers (notice that the same string 
of outputs would be treated as data 
were the board not in the command 
mode). T&ble 1 shows the protocols 
of the computer addressing for dif- 
ferent functions. If a device is being 
told to listen to control information, 
an addressed command follows its 
address-to-listen call. Addressed con- 
trol information defined by the 
IEEE-488 standard includes GTL (go 
to local), which releases a device from 
remote control; SDC (selected-device 
clear), which resets a device to its 
default setting; PPC (parallel-poll con- 
figure), which is used to assign a data 
line to a device for answering a 
parallel poll; GET (group-enable trig- 
ger), which initiates simultaneous data 
acquisition by each addressed device; 
and TCT (take control), which passes 
control of the bus management from 
the present controller to the specified 
device. 

Ttoo other kinds of multiline com- 
mands are shown in table 1. First is 
a secondary address. This is informa- 
tion after the primary address that 
configures a device for a particular 
kind of operation. This is one way that 
a DMM may be set for DC volts, for 
example. The primary address 
specifies the DMM device number, 
and the secondary address specifies 
the DC voltmeter function in the 
DMM. The significance of secondary 
addresses is not part of the standard. 
Each manufacturer decides whether 

(continued) 



274 B Y T E • FEBRUARY 198 



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INTERFACING 



to use secondary addresses and, if so, 
what they will mean. The last kind of 
multiline command is a universal 
command. Reasonably enough, uni- 
versal commands apply to all devices 
on the bus and are therefore not 
preceded by an address list. The 
universal commands defined by the 
standard include LLO (local lockout), 
which disables instrument front-panel 
control; DCL (device clear), which 
resets all devices to their factory- 
selected default states (this is the 
universal version of SDC); PPU 
(parallel-poll unconfigure), which 
deactivates parallel polling; SPE 
(serial-poll enable), which initiates a 
serial poll; and SPD (serial-poll 
disable), which terminates a serial 
poll. 

The logical difference between the 
uniline commands and the multiline 
commands is that uniline commands 
are unconditioned. That is, they 
operate immediately instead of re- 
quiring that the bus be in command 
mode. The last two uniline bus-man- 
agement lines illustrate the need for 
such immediacy REN (remote enable) 
places a device under computer con- 
trol. When a device is first going to be 
addressed by the computer, this pro- 
vides the "warm boot" needed to get 
its attention. IFC (interface clear) is the 
"panic button."When the controller 
asserts IFC, the active talker must im- 
mediately relinquish control of the 
data lines to the computer. As you can 



see, the standard is rather involved. 
But it is not complete 

HPIB 

The IEEE-488 standard ensures elec- 
trical compatibility among instru- 
ments, but it does not insure that two 
instruments will understand each 
other. The analogy has been drawn 
between IEEE-488 and the telephone 
system: You can call Rome on your 
telephone, but you may not under- 
stand what the person who answers 
the phone is saying. Similarly the 
IEEE-488 standard does not specify 
the code that is to be used by instru- 
ments in transmitting data. Some in- 
struments speak binary, some speak 
ASCII, etc. The Hewlett-Packard Cor- 
poration has developed a software 
standard for IEEE-488 data that is not 
universally employed. However, it is the 
most common format for data trans- 
fers on the bus. The protocol is called 
the Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus 
(HPIB). GPIB and HPIB are often used 
interchangeably, but strictly speaking 
GPIB is the IEEE-488 standard and 
HPIB is the conformance to HP's soft- 
ware protocol. HPIB specifies the 
following: 

1. All information is transferred in 
ASCII code 

2. Information is transmitted "left to 
right"; that is, "C A T" is transmitted 
"67 65 84," not "84 65 67." 

{continued) 



Tkble 1: IEEE-488 interface management command bit protocols. These apply 
only when the controller asserts ATN. headdress bit, C=command bit. 
S=secondary address bit, N=not used. 


Data Lines Bit 


Significance 


7 6 5 4 3 2 10 




NOOOCCCC 
N001CCCC 
N 1 A A A A A 
N 1 A A A A A 
N 1 1 SSSSS 


addressed command 
universal command 
address to listen 
address to talk 
secondary address 



276 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 107 FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 277 



INTERFACING 



The significance of 
a device's program data 
is determined by the 
manufacturer, not 
IEEE-488. 



3. All sequences of data transmission 
end with ASCII 13 (a carriage return) 
and, optionally, ASCII 10 (a linefeed) 
instead of using the EOI line. 

The advantage of the standard is that 
data can be fed directly to a printer 
to produce properly formatted output 
in continuous-data-collection applica- 



tions. Of course, the biggest advan- 
tage of the standard is simply that it 
is a standard. 

Using the Interface 

So much for the standard. Now let's 
take a look at how to use it. Manufac- 
turers of IEEE-488 interface boards 
provide interface drivers for you, so 
using the interface is easier than 
learning about the standard in the first 
place Usually the interface driver is 
a set of assembly-language routines 
that you can call. In high-speed applic- 
tions you will want an assembly-lan- 
guage driver. But in the program I pro- 
vide here (listing 1), I use an inter- 
preted BASIC driver. The program is 
taken from a course in interfacing I 
taught at Brandeis University. It is 
used to calculate the lattice energy of 
solid argon from temperature and 



Listing I: A sample data-acquisition routine using the IEEE-488 interface. 



10 



20 



30 



REM IEEE-488 PROGRAM FOR HEAT OF SUBLIMATION OF SOLID 

ARGON. PROGRAM SHOULD BE MERGED WITH TECMAR 

IEEE-488 SOFTWARE VER. 3. 

REM PROGRAM BY THOMAS CLUNE, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY 

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT 

REM DMM #19 READS THE THERMOCOUPLE, DMM #17 READS THE 

PRESSURE TRANSDUCER. 

INITIALIZE IEEE-488 BUFFER LOCATION, DIMENSION ARRAYS 

40 BD.ADDR% = &H310:DIM PRES(250):DIM TEMP(250) 

50 REM SPECIFY COMPUTER DEVICE NUMBER, INITIALIZE DATA 

POINTER 

60 MY.ADDR% = 1:DPT=1 

70 REM WAIT UNTIL READY TO BEGIN RUN, PRESSURE READINGS 

MUST BE POSITIVE AND THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM MUST BE 

REACHED BEFORE THE RUN BEGINS. 

80 CLS:PRINT "PRESS ANY KEY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BEGIN YOUR 

RUN" 

90 A$-INKEY$:IF A$="" THEN 90 

100 REM INITIALIZE BOARD WITH COMPUTER AS CONTROLLER 

110 PARAM$ = "INIT.C/":GOSUB 10000 

120 REM SET BOTH DMM'S FOR REMOTE CONTROL BY COMPUTER 

130 PARAM$ = "ADTR/":GOSUB 10000 

140 REM SET INTERRUPT REGISTERS OF DMM'S FOR SYNTAX ERROR 

AND FRONT PANEL SRQ. 

150 DATA.STRING$= "KM24D2PRESSURE" 

160 PARAM$-"WR.STR/17/14///":GOSUB 10000 

170 DATA.STRINGS = "KM24D2TEMPERATURE" 

180 PARAM$ = "WR.STR/19/17///":GOSUB 10000 

190 REM ENTER DATA.STRINGS AND WRITE PROGRAMMING 

INFORMATION TO DMM #17. ADD <CR> FOR EOS. 

200 CLS:INPUT "ENTER COMMAND STRING FOR PRES. DMM 

(#17)";DATA. STRINGS 

210 DATA.STRINGS - DATA.STRINGS + CHR$(13) 

220 REM OUTPUT DATA.STRINGS TO DMM 

230 PARAM$ = "WR.STR/17//13/EOS/":GOSUB 10000 

[continued] 



pressure data pairs. This is a low- 
speed application, with readings be- 
ing taken every 30 seconds. Thus, an 
interpreted BASIC interface driver will 
provide adequate speed. A further 
benefit to me is that students can 
study the driver routines to under- 
stand how the interface works. Tfecmar 
also makes an assembly version of its 
interface driver. 

The equipment used in this experi- 
ment includes an IBM PC with 128K 
bytes of memory a Ttecmar IEEE-488 
interface for the PC two HP 3478A 
DMMs with IEEE-488 installed, a 
copper-constantan thermocouple 
wire, and a Barytron 220 pressure 
transducer. The program listing in- 
cludes only the data-acquisition part 
of the program, and Tecmar's inter- 
face driver routine is not reprinted 
here. Before the experiment can be 
run, the DMMs must be set to their 
respective addresses (17 and 19) by 
DIP switches on the DMM backplanes. 

The program is largely self-ex- 
planatory. I will limit my remarks on 
it to points that the listing may not 
make sufficiently clear. Notice the 
statement BQ ADDR%« &H310 in 
line 40. This initializes the beginning 
memory location of the 16-byte buf- 
fer used for communication between 
the IEEE-488 interface and the com- 
puter. MYADDR%=1 in line 60 
declares that the computer's device 
address number will be 1. Both these 
variable names are specified by the 
driver software. Line 110 shows the 
way that the Tecmar driver routine is 
invoked. The routine begins at line 
10000 and is merged with your appli- 
cation program. PARAMS is the 
variable name for any parameter to 
be passed to the driver routine. In this 
case, the operation performed is ini- 
tializing the IEEE board for controller 
operation. In line 130, ADTR is the 
mnemonic for asserting REN, to let 
the DMMs know that they are con- 
nected to and will be controlled by 
the computer. Line 1 50 contains the 
information to be output to the DMM 
that will monitor the pressure trans- 
ducer. The significance of this data is 
determined by the DMM manufac- 

{continued) 



278 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 344 

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240 REM CHECK FOR SYNTAX ERROR IN DATA.STRINGS. IF YES, LOOP 

BACK TO REENTER DATA.STRINGS 
250 PARAM$="RBST/":GOSUB 10000 

260 IF SRQ% = 1 THEN PARAM$= "SER. POLL/1 7/" :GOSUB 10000:IF 
POLL.RESP% AND 4 = 4 THEN PRINT "SYNTAX ERROR IN 
COMMAND":SRQ°/o = 0:GOTO 200 
270 REM IF ERROR< >SYNTAX ERROR, LIST ERROR MESSAGE IN 

OCTAL AND END. 
280 IF SRQ% = 1 THEN PRINT "ERROR. STATUS REGISTER (IN 

OCTAL) - ";OCT$(POLLRESP%):END 
290 REM ENTER DATA.STRINGS AND WRITE PROGRAMMING 

INFORMATION TO DMM #19. ADD <CR> FOR EOS. 
300 INPUT "ENTER COMMAND STRING FOR TEMP. DMM 

(#19)"; DATA.STRINGS 
310 DATA.STRING$= DATA.STRINGS + CHR$(13) 
320 REM OUTPUT DATA.STRINGS TO DMM 

330 PARAM$ = "WR.STR/19//13/EOS/":GOSUB 10000 
340 REM CHECK FOR SYNTAX ERROR IN DATA.STRINGS. IF YES, LOOP 

BACK TO REENTER DATA.STRINGS 
350 PARAM$="RBST/";GOSUB 10000 
360 REM IF ERROR< >SYNTAX ERROR, LIST ERROR MESSAGE IN 

OCTAL AND END. 
370 IF SRQ% = 1 THEN PARAM$= "SER.P0LL/19/":G0SUB 10000:IF 
POLLRESP% AND 4 = 4 THEN PRINT "SYNTAX ERROR IN 
COMMAND":SRQo/o = 0:GOTO 300 
380 IF SRQ°/o=1 THEN PRINT "ERROR. STATUS REGISTER = (IN 

OCTAL) ";OCT$(POLLRESP°/o):END 
390 REM BEGINNING OF DATA-ACQUISION LOOP. INITIATE A GROUP- 

EXECUTE TRIGGER TO RECORD THERMOCOUPLE AND 

PRESSURE TRANSDUCER READINGS SIMULTANEOUSLY. 
400 PARAM$ = "GET/17, 19/":GOSUB 10000 
410 REM READ THE DMM VALUES INTO THE COMPUTER 

420 PARAM$-"RD.STR/17//10/EOS/":GOSUB 10000 
430 REM STORE THE READING IN THE PRESSURE ARRAY. 1 

TORR = 10mV, SO *100 MAKES V = PRES IN TORR. 
440 PRES(DPT) = VAL(DATA.STRINGS) * 1 00 
450 REM NOTE THAT THE LINE FEED IS USED TO SIGNAL THE END OF 

DATA INSTEAD OF THE LENGTH OF COUNT. LENGTH OF 

COUNT CAUSES AN ERROR CONDITION HERE WITH V.3 
460 PARAM$ = ,, RD.STR/19//10/EOS/":GOSUB 10000 
470 REM STORE THE READING IN THE TEMPERATURE ARRAY, IF 

TEMP>77K GO TO CALCULATION ROUTINE 
480 TEMP(DPT) = VAL(DATA,STRING$)*1000:IF TEMP(DPT)> -5.539 THEN 630 
490 REM CHECK FOR FRONT PANEL SRQ. IF YES, GO TO 

CALCULATION ROUTINE 
500 PARAM$ = "RBST/".GOSUB 10000 
510 IF SRQ°/o<>1 THEN 550 

520 PARAM$="SER.POLL/17/";GOSUB 10000:IF POLLRESP%<>0 THEN 630 
530 PARAM$ = "SER.POLL/19/":GOSUB 10000:IF POLLRESP%<>0 THEN 630 
540 REM READ NEW TIME, CHECK ELAPSED TIME 

550 REM TIMES IS RESET TO WHEN RBST CHECKS FOR TIMEOUT 

FAULTS 
560 ENDCLK = VAL(RIGHT$(TIME$,2)):PRINT ENDCLK 
570 REM IF AT LEAST 30 SEC HAVE ELAPSED, GET NEW READING 

580 IF ENDCLK<30 THEN 560 
590 REM CHECK FOR END OF ARRAY. IF YES, JUMP TO CALCULATION 

ROUTINE. OTHERWISE INCREMENT DPT AND COLLECT NEXT 

POINT 
600 IF DPT>249THEN 630 
61 DPT = DPT + 1 :GOTO 400 
620 REM PRINT DATA AND DO SEMILOG REGRESSION GOES HERE. 

ROUTINE DELETED FOR BYTE ARTICLE. FULL ROUTINE 

AVAILABLE FROM AUTHOR. 



{continued) 
Inquiry 290 — ► 



» 






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. . . relatively easy to master. . ." 



BUI Jacobson 

From a feature article in 

BYTE, October 1984 




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1985 Software Solution^ Inc 



INTERFACING 



The cost of adding 
an IEEE-488 interface 
is nominal and the 
added flexibility 
is not available 
from any other source. 



turer and is not a part of the IEEE-488 
standard. This data is used to pro- 
gram the 3478A instead of secondary 
addresses, which the HP does not 
support. The significance of the string 
to the DMM is as follows: K - "clear 
the maskable interrupt register," M24 
= "set a new mask to generate an 
SRQ if programming data sent to the 
DMM has a syntax error or if the 
front-panel SRQ button is pushed," 
and D2PRESSURE = "display the 
word "PRESSURE' on the DMM s dis- 
play panel." Since the pressure- 
monitoring DMM and the tempera- 
ture-monitoring DMM look exactly the 
same this prompt ensures that the in- 
strument is connected to the right 
transducer. Line 160 has the program- 
ming string output to the correct 
DMM. Field 2 of WR.STR specifies the 
device number (17) of the appropriate 
DMM and field 3 says to transmit 14 
characters. That is, the end of se- 
quence (EOS) is identified by simply 



counting the number of characters 
transmitted. At the end of 14 charac- 
ters, the computer will UNLISTEN the 
DMM to terminate transmission. Line 
200 has the operator input the pro- 
gramming information that will 
specify the functions that the 
pressure-monitoring DMM will use. 
Since the number of characters in the 
command string will vary with what 
options the operator selects, we don't 
use a character count to signal EOS 
here. Rather, in line 210 we tack a 
< CR > code onto the end of the data 
and in line 2 30 specify that the trans- 
mission to the DMM should continue 
until "13" (the carriage-return code in 
ASCII) is encountered. Since each 
operator enters the programming in- 
formation on each experimental run, 
we want to verify that the DMM string 
does not contain any typographical 
mistakes. Therefore, we read the IEEE- 
bus status (line 2 50) and see whether 
an SRQ flag has been set (line 260). 
Remember that the DMM was pro- 
grammed in line 160 to generate an 
SRQ on a syntax error. If an SRQ has 
been sent, we examine the status 
register of the DMM (260 also) to 
make sure that the SRQ was caused 
by a syntax error and, if so, have the 
operator reenter valid programming 
information for the DMM. Note that 
the SRQ does not automatically inter- 
rupt the central processing unit. It 
only sets a flag on the IEEE bus. If we 
want to ignore it, all devices that are 
still able to function properly can 
carry on with their business as usual. 



If we want an SRQ to automaticaly in- 
terrupt the computer, we can tie the 
SRQ line to an IRQ line. 

Now let's skip to line 400. This ini- 
tiates a group-enable trigger for both 
DMMs (numbers 17 and 19). Thus, our 
pressure and temperature data read- 
ings are triggered at the same time 
and are truly simultaneous. In line 
420, we read the pressure DMM data 
into the pressure array PRES. Charac- 
ter 10, a linefeed, is used as an EOS 
by the DMM and is so declared in line 
420. Lines 500 through 530 check to 
see if an SRQ was sent by any device 
and, if so, conducts a serial poll. This 
is done because the program allows 
the experimenter to interrupt the ex- 
periment at any time by pressing a 
front-panel button on either DMM. 
The program will then treat the data 
collected up to that time as the com- 
plete data set and begin the data 
analysis routine. If there was no SRQ, 
the program waits 30 seconds, checks 
to make sure that the data arrays are 
not about to overflow, and then takes 
another data reading. 

The program presented above is a 
very simple routine. However, even 
this basic level of process control is 
very difficult to achieve on interfaces 
other than the IEEE-488. If you have 
a choice, you should begin reshaping 
your lab to support IEEE-488 interfac- 
ing. As you replace outdated or 
broken equipment, the cost of adding 
an IEEE-488 interface is nominal and 
the added flexibility is not available 
from any other source. ■ 



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282 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 198 



The PC Plotter: 

It will change the way 

business looks at graphics. 



The lowest-priced professional plotter on the 
market today is Houston Instrument's new four- 
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Price — A multi-pen, compact, single-sheet 
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As to our performance, we're 
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offering you hundreds 
of graphics software 
packages which are 



A 



compatible with the PC Plotter. That means you 
can produce any type of drawing you require. 

Flexibility — Depending on your needs, you 
can select from two PC Plotter models. One (PC 
Plotter Model 595 for $595.00*) allows you to 
produce graphics or overhead transparencies 
on QV2" x 1 1" paper or film; the other (PC Plotter 
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forget the OEM. Houston Instrument will work 
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your particular application. 

For the name of your closest PC Plotter 
distributor or dealer, contact Houston Instrument, 
P.O. Box 15720, Austin, Texas, 78761 or call 
(512)835-0900. Outside Texas call 800-531-5205. 
In Europe, contact Houston Instrument, Belgium 
NV., Rochesterlaan 6, 8240 Gistel, Belgium. 
Tel. 059-27-74-45, Tlx. 846-81399. 



Inquiry 139 







& <*> 



<%. 



_J 



__ DaoDasSoDQ 

55 instrument 




*i 



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4P016 



*U.S. suggested list price. 




§ 




INTRODUCING NEW KODAK DISKETTES. 



For as long as anyone can remember, the 
world has trusted Kodak film to capture its 
memories. Now the world can trust legend- 
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data. 

Introducing Kodak diskettes. And the 
beginning of a new legend. 

We know you expect nothing less than 
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These remarkable new diskettes 
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Every Kodak diskette has 
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And every standard 
diskette is made to 



<§> Eastman Kodak Company, 1984 
Inquiry 346 




withstand 4Vi million passes before significant 
wear occurs. 

With accuracy and durability like that, we 
can offer this no-questions-asked replace- 
ment policy: 

This KODAK Diskette will be free from man- 
ufacturing defects, or we will replace it. 

Kodak diskettes for home and business PC 
use are available in standard 8- and 5 x /4-inch 
formats, high-density 5V4-inch diskettes, and 
3V2-inch micro diskettes in our 
HD 600 Series. 

New Kodak diskettes. Be- 
cause the only thing that can 
follow a legend is another 
legend. 




KODAK. 

The name says it all. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 285 



■-' 







' 






— 















"" *5T=S 



nrrr^rrrw^^ --^^^w^ ? 



«J 



■J 










V 



BITE 



Reviews 



Reviewers Notebook 

by Glenn Hartwig 289 

NewWord 

by ]ofin Heilborn and Hand Reel 291 

(anus/Ada 

by Mark J. Welch 295 

The Epson Geneva PX-8 

by Rich Malloy , 302 

Two Modula-2 Compilers 

FOR THE IBM PC 

by Kevin Bowyer 311 

E-Mail for the Masses 

by Wayne Rash Jr. 317 

Mannesmann Tally MT 160 

by Mark I. Welch 325 

Review Feedback 331 



EVEN WITH ITS MULTIPLE-KEYSTROKE FUNCTIONS and non-mnemonic 
commands, WordStar has retained its reputation as a powerful and popular 
word processor. Now some of the people who developed WordStar have got- 
ten together and written a package designed to capitalize on WordStar's 
strengths while addressing its weaknesses. Called NewWord, this program from 
NewStar Software has strengths and weaknesses of its own. In our first review 
this month, John Heilborn and Nanci Reel take a close look at whether it fails 
or succeeds in its objectives. 

Next, Mark Welch gives us his investigations of Janus/Ada. A nonstandard 
subset of Ada for MS-DOS and CP/M-80, Janus/Ada lacks a lot of features that 
give Ada its special character and utility. On the other hand, its fundamental 
structure is that of Ada's, and it can give you a definite head start in your 
attempts to pick up a new and complex programming language. 

The Geneva PX-8 is Epson's lap-size computer. These small machines look 
now to be a permanent feature of the microcomputing landscape. The PX-8's 
credentials are impressive: a CMOS Z80, 96K bytes of two kinds of memory, 
an 8 by 80 LCD, and a comprehensive list of bundled software for less (just 
less) than $1000. Still, what we've seen for some time are systems that do 
very similar things with their major difference being price. How well can one 
of these briefcase computers help you work? Rich Malloy has taken a hard 
look at the PX-8. His review this month shows you what you can expect. 

When confronted with a choice between two products designed to do the 
same thing, do you ever find yourself asking why one costs more than 10 
times as much as the other— and is it worth it? A case in point is demonstrated 
in this month's review of "Ttoo Modula-2 Compilers for the IBM PC." Both are 
adaptations of the original Swiss compiler and neither is a trivial implemen- 
tation. Why then does one cost $40 and the other $495? Is the more expen- 
sive product necessarily the better product? While not primarily a comparison 
on a cost basis, Kevin Bowyer's review provides good evidence about what 
each compiler can do. 

Another comparative review is offered by Wayne Rash Jr. in his look at MCI 
Mail and EasyLink. In theory, electronic-mail services have a lot to recom- 
mend them. Why haven't they caught on as well as their advance billing a 
few years ago would lead us. to expect? Both of these packages are full ser- 
vices, and each has been heavily promoted. Do you want one to call your 
own? If so, do you want either of these? Good questions. Mr. Rash provides 
some good answers. 

Closing out this month's review section, Mark Welch provides a straightfor- 
ward look at a straightforward product. Mannesmann Tally's latest printer, the 
MT160, has a variety of print modes, speeds, configuration capabilities, and 
programmable features. Mark Welch details the MT 160 and gives you as good 
an idea as anyone could about what this machine will and won't do. 

— Glenn Hartwig, Technical Editor, Reviews 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 287 



A Picture's Worth 



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Graphics 
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Inquiry 140 

GVT+ is a trademark c* 
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Whether used in video display mode or in its high-performance graphics mode, 
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productivity — and encourage creativity — for the terminal operator, interactive 
user, and applications developer than any other terminal available today. 

Atlanta — (404) 391-9763; Boston — (617) 449-6446; Chicago — (312) 825-2960; Dallas — (214)437-1888; Delaware — Inlocon: (302) 239-2942; Denver — 
(303) 469-1953; Detroit - (313) 471-2807; Hawaii - Gray Associates: (808) 261-3751; Houston - (713) 952-1403; Los Angeles — (213)410-9454; Northern 
New Jersey - Inlocon; (20 1 ) 624-1372; New York City Area - Inlocon; (212) 689-8833; New York State - Naco Electronics: Rochester: (716) 223-4490; 
Syracuse: (315) 699-2651; San Francisco - (415) 692-4184; Washington. DC — International Systems Marketing (301) 279-5775; Argentina — ItronSA 
(01) 774-9369; Australia — Computer Clarity Pty. Ltd.: (02) 241 3385; Belgium — BELCOMP 091-31.52.22; Canada — CAJX Systems: Toronto: 
(416) 362-1063; Denmark — ADCOM Data Aps: 1-19 44 66; Finland — Valtamatic Oy 0-742 01 1; France — Walton: (1) 226.06.90; Japan — Ampere 
03 (365) 0825; Portugal — Soc Com. Crocker, Dellalorce Co Ltd: 1-6801 41; Singapore — DTS Singapore: 33-88-566; South Africa — Psitec (Pry.) Ltd; 
(1 1) 836-9181; Switzerland — Mitek ag 01/461 22 52; United Kingdom — Shandell Systems Ltd: 2407-2027; Venezuela — H. BlohmSA 2541.21.22; West 
Germany -COMKO Computersystemges. mbH: 221-48 30 51 INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTORSHIP INQUIRIES INVITED 






REVIEWER'S NOTEBOOK 



Two software packages for labora- 
tory data acquisition tie in 
with this month's theme, computing 
in the sciences. Up for future review 
are Labtech Notebook, from Labora- 
tory Technologies Corp., 328 Broad- 
way, Cambridge MA 02139, (617) 
497-1010; and Asyst, from Macmillan 
Software Co., 866 Third Ave., New 
York, NY 10022, (212) 702-3241. Also 
slated for closer scrutiny in upcoming 
issues is the software provided by 
various A/D (analog-to-digital) board 
manufacturers. Those companies in- 
clude Tfecmar, 622 5 Cochran Rd., 
Cleveland, OH 44139, (216) 349-0600, 
maker of the Labmaster board; and 
Data Translation, 100 Locke Dr., 
Marlboro. MA 01752, (617) 481-3700. 
While the A/D board makers seem to 
concentrate on producing driver soft- 
ware, the two packages first men- 
tioned are integrated data-acquisition 
and data-analysis software. 

Beginning with hardware require- 
ments, there are key differences be- 
tween the two main packages. The 
Labtech Notebook (which Data 
Translation also markets, under the 
name DT Notebook) can use the Intel 
8087 math coprocessor chip; the 
Asyst package requires it. 

There are other differences between 
the two. Asyst supports complex 
number types, while Labtech Note- 
book does not. Asyst includes a wide 
variety of statistical-analysis options, 
while Labtech Notebook is more 
limited. Asyst includes routines to 
calculate polynomials, to operate on 
vectors and matrices (including matrix 
Aversions), to determine the eigen- 
values and eigenvectors of a matrix, 
-) fit data to curves using least- 
luares approximations and multi- 
ear regression, and to do fast 
urier transforms (including two- 
\ensional forward and inverse 
sforms). Labtech Notebook lacks 



these sophisticated mathematical 
functions. Arguing on behalf of 
Labtech Notebook is its ability to con- 
tinuously stream input data to disk up 
to the limit of mass-storage space. Ad- 
ditionally Labtech Notebook (written 
in FORTH-like MAGIC/L) is menu- 
driven and easy to use, while Asyst is 
a FORTH extension and requires the 
use of FORTH syntax, making it more 
difficult for some people to use. Final- 
ly Labtech Notebook supports a 
wider variety of A/D boards. Both 
packages, however, support curve 
fitting. 

Labtech Notebook uses Lotus 1-2-3 
or similar products to do its graphing 
(except for real-time graphing, which 
is built in) and requires a spreadsheet 
or user-written program to perform 
data analysis. What is good about this 
is that the data files are written in 
comma-delimited ASCII (American 
Standard Code for Information Inter- 
change), which could be transported 
to most other software packages that 
include a user-written analysis routine. 
What is not so good is that we don't 
know many scientists who can so easi- 
ly write good graphing routines that 
they actually want to spend time do- 
ing it. Further, Lotus 1-2-3 has been 
characterized as inappropriate for 
creating sophisticated analysis pro- 
grams. You'll need to take a serious 
look at this Labtech Notebook/Lotus 
1-2-3 interdependency if you're con- 
sidering it for your application. Right 
now, being tied into Lotus's graphing 
capabilities strikes a number of peo- 
ple around here as providing less 
functionality than needed for serious 
laboratory data analysis. 

Nor is Asyst a likely "white knight" 
for the scientist. Thie, it has everything 
you could want except continuous 
data acquisition, but it is so hard to 
use that some of the company's own 
demonstrators seemed to have 



learned their presentations by rote. At 
a recent demonstration in Washing- 
ton, DC, they wouldn't vary the input 
data at the suggestion of the 
audience. 

Neither of these packages is cheap. 
Asyst comes in three separate 
modules and is priced at $1695 when 
all three are bundled together. The 
first module contains the system/ 
graphics/statistics routines, is required 
to run the other two modules, and 
costs $795. The second module 
handles data analysis and costs $495. 
The third takes care of data ac- 
quisition and sets you back another 
$495. 

Labtech Notebook is a single pack- 
age and is less expensive in strictly 
relative terms-$795. The catch is that 
you have to provide your own Lotus 
1-2-3. 

Reporters are slowly realizing that 
system crackers cannot magical- 
ly break into any computer. They are 
more likely invited in by poorly 
designed security measures. One of 
the devices that has arisen from this 
purported problem is the call-back 
modem, a device that allows access 
only from a group of specially 
selected phone numbers. And the first 
to arrive here at BYTE is the GTX-100 
secure modem, from Lockheed- 
GETEX, 86 South Cobb Dr., Marietta, 
GA 30063. This modem, which sells 
for about $1000, can be set up so that 
nobody can call in to the system 
directly. You merely give it a password 
and the modem will then call you 
back after referring to a list of phone 
numbers in its memory. Unfortunate- 
ly, the modem is not completely com- 
patible with the Hayes modem, so 
some software may not work with it, 
but it seems to be a pretty interesting 
idea. 
— Glenn Hartwig, Technical Editor, Reviews 



FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 289 



Hayes sets the standard 
for personal computer 

communications, j 
Smartmodem 2400. 




The new fast mover from 
Hayes. The telecomputing 
leader. When it comes to commu- 
nications products for personal 
computers, we're the leader! Hayes 
Smartmodem 1200 '* set the indus- 
try standards for quality reliability 
and performance. 

Now our new, faster Smartmodem 
2400 goes even further to lower 
telephone line costs and improve 
user productivity So, at twice the 
speed of a 1200 bps modem, it 
quickly pays for itself in any high- 
volume communications operation. 

Smartmodem 2400 provides a quick 
link to minis and mainframes. Both 
synchronous and asynchronous 
transmissions are supported by an 
advanced version of the well-known 
Hayes "AT" command set. You can 
download from the IBM mainframe 
at the home office. Send data to 
the mini upstairs. And guarantee 
accurate transmission with infor- 
mation services. 



With worldwide communications 
in mind, Smartmodem 2400 was 
designed to meet CCITT interna- 
tional standards. It provides a fast, 
cost-effective way to transmit data 
between approved countries. 

New version of Hayes 
Smartcom II C ^ communications 
software creates a complete tele- 
computing system with Smart- 
modem 2400. Our new Smartcom 
II. Version 2.1 . is available for the 
IBM* PC and many popular com- 
patibles. Smartcom II makes the 
most of Smartmodem's exceptional 
features, at the same time it makes 
communicating easy for you. And, 
if you're currently using an earlier 
version of Smartcom II, Hayes of- 
fers a $2 5 upgrade to Version 2.1. 

So if you're looking for ways to 
streamline your communications, 
see your authorized Hayes dealer 
right away For a hands-on demon- 
stration of Smartcom II and our new 
Smartmodem 2400. Guaranteed to 
get you moving fast! 



Hayes Microcomputer 
Products, Inc., 5923 Peachtree 
Industrial Blvd., Norcross, Georgia 
30092. 404/441-1617. 



Smartmodem 2400 

• Direct connect • Asynchronous 
and synchronous communications 

• Accommodates Hayes-compat- 
ible modems of slower speeds 

• Meets CCITT worldwide stan- 
dards • Keyboard control of all 
communications parameters • High 
speed indicator • Voice/data 
capabilities • Call progress moni- 
toring • TWo-year limited warranty 
with optional four-year extended 
warranty available. 

Smartcom II 

• Hayes Verification and XMODEM 
protocols • Emulates DEC* VT52 
and VT100/102 • Totally unat- 
tended operation • Voice/data 
capabilities. 




i registered trademark and Smartmodem 2400 ,jnd Smartmodem 1 200 a re trademarks ol Hayes Mi< hKompuiet Products 
•Trademarks of their respective companies ©198 s Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc 



290 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 133 



SOFTWARE REVIEW 



NewWord 



A WordStar 
clone with 



by John Heilborn 
and Nanci Reel 



WordStar, the archetypal word 
processor, is a versatile text- 
manipulating tool, but it can be 
difficult to master. NewWord, developed by 
Significant NewStar Software, retains the strengths that 
have made WordStar popular while ad- 
lmprOVCmentS dressing most of WordStar's shortcomings. 

NewWord, available for the IBM PC, PC- 
compatibles, and CP/M-80 systems, is priced 
at $249. Functionally NewWord is similar to 
WordStar— it was, in fact, designed by some 
of the same people— but it is not merely a 
WordStar clone. And although it is not 
perfect, NewWord offers some significant 
advantages over WordStar. 

WordStar's delete commands (Control-G, 
Control-T, Control-Y) are permanently 
destructive; when you delete something, it's 
gone forever. If you change your mind (or 
if you erase accidentally), you need to 
retype. To make matters worse, Control-Y 
(delete line) is right next to Control-T (delete 
word), so you can easily delete an entire line 
by mistake. 

NewWord has an undo command (Con- 
trol-U) and an "unerase" buffer. This com- 
mand will usually undo whatever the last 
command did. For example it will unerase 
a block that you erased with the command 
Control-KY You can set the size of the 
unerase buffer during installation. Its 
original setting is 2 55 characters, or about 
10 words. 

When you request a document to edit, 
WordStar does not check to make sure that 
you typed the name correctly If you 
misspell a document name, WordStar 
assumes that you want to create a new 
document. You have to abandon your mis- 
spelled file with Control-KQ. On the other 
hand, NewWord looks for the document and 
asks for verification if the entered name 
does not match a file in the disk directory. 
This eliminates abandoning empty files in- 
advertently created when you try to retrieve 
an existing document for editing. 

When WordStar saves a file during editing 
(Control-KS), the cursor returns to the top 



\ohn Heilborn (POB 20102. Castro 

Valley, CA 94546) is president of 

ThinkWorks \nc. and Nanci Reel 

(6700 Southwest \Q5th St., Suite 

200. Beaverton, OR 97005) is a 

technical writer for Teneron 

Corporation. 



of the document, not to where you were 
editing. You must then use Control-QP to 
move the cursor back. NewWord returns the 
cursor to your editing location without extra 
keystrokes. 

Print Features 

In general, WordStar displays a document 
on the screen that looks exactly the way the 
printed page will look. Unfortunately, it also 
displays the control commands that you 
have to insert before and after text to turn 
boldface, underline, and other print features 
on and off. WordStar does have a special 
command that hides these commands, but 
it prevents you from seeing the control 
codes. You might forget where they are or 
leave out a trailing command and, for ex- 
ample, italicize the remainder of your 
document. 

NewWord can display special print op- 
tions such as boldface, underline, and 
strikeover on the screen if your terminal 
supports this capability And NewWord's 
search function recognizes these embed- 
ded print control characters. For example, 
you can find all the boldfaced words and 
change them to underlined words; with 
WordStar, you have to conduct such a 
search visually without program support. 

Another feature WordStar lacks is the 
ability to print more than one copy of a 
document at a time unless you buy the 
MailMerge program at extra cost. NewWord, 
however, includes the option of printing 
multiple copies of a document via a selec- 
tion from the print menu. Also, you do not 
need an extra program to create form let- 
ters and perform other merge-printing tasks. 
NewWord has a merge-print function with 
features and commands similar to Micro- 
Pro's MailMerge, and advanced features 
such as conditional merge-print commands. 

Rulers and Headers 

WordStar has other shortcomings that 
might be visible only to advanced users. For 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 291 



AT A GLANCE 



Name 


Language 


NewWord 


8080 machine language or 8086/8088 




machine language 


Type 




Word-processing software 


Computer 




MS-DOS- and CP/M -80- based 


Manufacturer 


microcomputers 


NewStar Software Inc. 




1601 Oak Park Blvd. 


Documentation 


Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 


420-page manual, Read Me First (23 


(415) 932-2278 


pages), Pocket Reference flyer, and disk 




tutorial 


Price 




$249 


Audience 



Format 

5 1 /4-inch floppy disk, PC-DOS (MS-DOS) 
and CP/M 



Business and home users of microcom- 
puter word-processing software who re- 
quire advanced features 



LOAD (SEC) 
50 



19.8 

n 



SAVE (SEC) 
50 I 



20 



SEARCH (SEC) 
100 I 



60 



SCROLL (SEC) 
125 



WORDSTAR 3.3 




VOLKSWRITER DELUXE 



Document Load measures how long it takes the document to disk. Search measures the 

each word processor to load a standard time it takes to find the last word in the docu- 

4000-word document from disk. Document ment. Scroll measures how long it takes to 

Save measures how long it takes to save scroll through the document manually. 



REVIEW: NEWWORD 



example in WordStar a "ruler" in- 
dicates left and right margins and tab 
stops. If you use several rulers within 
a document, you must embed each 
ruler in the text of your document. 
Each time you edit a document with 
several rulers, you must use a special 
command to turn on the new rulers 
as you encounter them. 

NewWord allows more flexible use 
of multiple rulers. When you edit, 
NewWord automatically changes the 
ruler line every time it encounters a 
new ruler (when moving either for- 
ward or backward through a file). The 
command Control-OO inserts a copy 
of the current ruler into your text, and 
the factory setting lets you use up to 
six rulers per file, although you can in- 
crease the number during installation. 

NewWord also lets you use up to 
three lines in page headings and foot- 
ings, where WordStar limits you to 
single lines. 

Printer Installation 

WordStar operates with a wide vari- 
ety of printers but usually does not 
take advantage of their most sophis- 
ticated capabilities, such as propor- 
tional spacing (with microjustification) 
and italics, without assembly-lan- 
guage patches to the printer drivers. 
Also, if you have more than one 
printer hooked up to your system (for 
example, a dot-matrix printer for 
drafts and a letter-quality printer for 
final copies), you need to customize 
a WordStar disk for each printer and 
load the appropriate one. 

NewWord lets you attach more than 
one printer to your computer and 
select the right one when you are 
ready to print. NewWord accom- 
plishes this with multiple printer 
drivers, including dot-matrix, letter- 
quality, and electronic typewriter 
drivers, which are available as over- 
lays. This package uses the advanced 
capabilities of the printers supported, 
including microjustification, variable 
character width and line height, and 
alternate pitches on the same line. 

Other Features 

NewWord's IBM PC version (with DOS 
2.0 or higher) protects a document 



292 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



REVIEW: NEWWORD 



when you use the opening menu's C 
command. You cannot edit or delete 
a protected document. 

NewWord also lets you find a par- 
ticular page using ControI-QR 

The Control-T command (delete 
word) works differently in NewWord 
than in WordStar. WordStar treats a 
punctuation mark as part of a word; 
if you use Control-T to delete the word 
"end." the trailing period is deleted 
with the word. NewWord deletes the 
word but not the period. 

A minor difference between New- 
Word and WordStar is that NewWord's 
left-arrow key is a destructive back- 
space (WordStar's is nondestructive). 

Finally, in NewWord you can set the 
right margin to 2 55 (WordStar's limit 
is 240). The wider margin is not signifi- 
cant for most applications, but it 
might be important in yours. 

Disadvantages 

You have to give up some WordStar 
features for NewWord's improve- 
ments. For example, you can't print a 
document while editing (Control-KP). 
This is NewWord's most serious flaw. 
Even when you use a print spooler, 
printing a long document requires a 
fair amount of time before the pro- 
gram accepts additional input. 

You can change logged disks while 
editing, but NewWord can't turn on 
the file directory (ControI-KF in Word- 
Star), so you can't see what's on your 
disk. For a way around this, issue the 
command Control-KI (delete file). 
NewWord will display the directory of 
the currently logged disk and prompt 
you for the name of the file to delete. 
You can check the directory of the 
currently logged disk and cancel the 
command with Control-U; NewWord 
won't delete anything. 

The R command, which temporarily 
returns you to DOS and runs a pro- 
gram, is missing from NewWord, and 
NewStar Software has no plans to add 
it to NewWord's vocabulary. If you 
want to format a blank disk from 
within NewWord, you're out of luck. 

Another missing command is Word- 
Star's 'repeat this key'* (Control-Q 
Control-Q*). Also, NewWord doesn't 
separate program messages and text 



clearly, which often makes the screen 
display confusing. 

Using NewWord 

Like WordStar, NewWord uses a multi- 
ple-menu-oriented command struc- 



_Jteistar Bemo_rJtotJor Sale. 
5PE 

D get a document to change, 

create a new document 
N create op change non-document 
P print a document 
H Merge print a document 
C protect a document 
X all done with Neword (exit) 



ture, but because NewWord's menus 
are less cluttered, they are easier to 
read (see photo 1). 

When you begin program execu- 
tion, NewWord presents an opening 

{continued) 



L change logged disk drive 
E rename a document 
copy a document 
Y delete a document 
F turn directory off 
J help 



not editing 

<<< OPENING N E N U > ) > 
— Preliminary Commands — 1 —File Commands-- ! -System Commaads- 



— Preliminary Commands — 
L Change logged disk drive 
F File directory now OH 
H Set help level 
— Commands to open a file — 
D Open a document file 
N Open a non-document file 



P PRINT a file 

E RENAME a file 

Cm a file 

¥ DELETE a file 



R Run a program 
X EXIT to system 

-WordStar Options- 
N Run MailHerge 
S Run SpellStar 



Photo I: [a) NewWord's opening menu compared with (b) WordStar's no-file menu. 



CURSOR 
A Eup 
A JUom 
A S left 



Wl. LB4CT1 Insert 

E S I T K ETT^ 
SCROLL ERASE OTHER 

up K char A J help 

down A T word A I tab 



EXTENSIONS 
*0 on-screen format 
A X saving & Mocks 



A R up screen A 5f line *U insert off A P print controls 



A y ngnt % down dll left A B align parag n quick 
*l word left screen *l unerase *H paragraph line 
A F word right A L find/replace again 
I — t — f — t — i — i — i — t — t — ♦„,4-—t-- 1 



AlTESI PAGE 1 LINE 4 COL 81 
< < < MA I N 
--Cursor Movement-- I -Delete- 
A S char left A D char right M char 
* wrd left A F wrd right IDE chr If 
A E line up A X line down l A T word rt 

— Scrolling — 1 A ¥ line 
A Z line doyn ^ line up 
*C screen up A R screen down i 
y. — t 1- — t- — |- — t f 1 — 



INSERT ON 
MENU > > > 
S -Miscellaneous- I -Other Nenus- 
! A I Tah A B Reform I (from Main mW 
! *U INSERT ON/OFF ! A J Help A K Block 
! A L Find/Replce againi^ Quick A P Print 
IRETURN End paragraph!^ Onscreen 
! *H Insert a RETURN ! 
! *ti Stop a command ! 

.|„l |„f o 



Photo 2: (a) NewWord's edit menu compared with (b) WordStar's main menu. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 293 



REVIEW: NEWWORD 



menu (older versions of WordStar call 
this a no-file menu). You select one of 
the activities listed by typing a single 
character. 

If you select D or N. you enter edit 
mode (see photo 2). Once you are in 
the edit mode, the edit menu (called 
the main menu in WordStar) appears 
on the screen. From this menu, you ac- 
cess commands by pressing the Con- 
trol key and entering a character. The 
four commands labeled EXTENSIONS 
(Control-O, Control-K, Control-R and 
Control-G) are for submenus. Pressing 
these commands calls submenus that 
let you select the third character re- 
quired for each command sequence 
If you are familiar with NewWord, you 
can enter the commands without 
waiting for the submenus. 

Fortunately. NewWord can read and 
edit WordStar files without conversion 
or translation- The program can also 
use some of the same auxiliary pro- 
grams; for example we use the same 
print spooler we use with WordStar. 

Performance 

We tested NewWord version 1.29, 
which is available for the IBM PC and 
compatibles (we used a PC. PCjr, and 
Compaq) and for CP/M-80 systems 
(we used a Morrow MD-1 1). Some im- 
proved versions are available: version 
1.40 for the IBM PC and compatibles 
is slightly faster than 1.29 and con- 
tains some minor program changes, 
and version 2.0 for CP/M-80 systems 
contains the column block-move fea- 
ture, which NewStar reports will be 
available soon (two to three weeks) for 
IBM PC users. \Editofs note: We used New- 
Word version 1 .43 to perform our benchmark 
tests.] 
Unlike WordStar, NewWord uses no 



overlays except the printer driver. In 
cases where WordStar must load an 
overlay to perform a function, New- 
Word's performance is faster. Overall 
though, we judge WordStar to be 
faster than NewWord on the IBM PC 
and compatibles and slightly slower 
on the CP/M computers. See table 1 
for data on the IBM PC. and John 
Heilborn's article 'The Morrow 
MD-11" (September 1984 BYTE, page 
32 5) for benchmarks using CP/M sys- 
tems (in table 2, page 334). 

Installation 

The NewWord installation procedure 
is long (13 pages of step-by-step in- 
structions) and critical, because the 
custom installation procedure is also 
the copy-protection scheme. Prior to 
this installation (called "unlocking") 
the software wont run on any com- 
puter. In order to unlock the software, 
you have to call a special 800 number 
maintained by NewStar. After unlock- 
ing, the software runs only on the 
machine on which it was installed. 

The unlocking procedure is de- 
scribed in Read Me First, a 13-step in- 
struction guide accompanying New- 
Word. The steps are clearly stated and 
even an inexperienced novice could 
follow the guidelines. 

To customize NewWord to fit your 
own needs, NewStar has included a 
utility called NWINSTAL, a customiza- 
tion program. Like NewWord, 
NWINSTAL is menu-driven. Some 
users will need to use the utility to in- 
stall special terminals and printers 
(the default terminal is a TeleVideo 
92 5). The program is easy to use and 
well documented; the menus are 
comprehensive but not intimidating. 
NewWord's many customization op- 



Table I : A comparison of benchmarks for NewWord. 


WordStar, and Wolkswriter 


Deluxe. 








Benchmark 


NewWord 1.43 


WordStar 3.3 


Vblkswriter Deluxe 


Document Load 


19.76 


9.9 


22.0 


Document Save 


23.17 


24.9 


21.9 


Search 


10.75 


10,5 


7.0 


Scroll 


1:21.45 


41.2 


30.1 



tions are described in the manual's 
Nuts and Bolts section. The organiza- 
tion of this section could use work 
(and there are several typographical 
errors) but, in general, the guidelines 
for using NWINSTAL are clear. 

NewWord includes another utility 
program called NWCOLOR that lets 
you customize the screen display for 
a color monitor. You can select any 
one of eight colors for the foreground 
and background of text display, as 
well as high intensity (boldface), blink- 
ing, and blinking boldface mode for 
the foreground. You can display text 
in seven different ways and change 
any or all of them. NWCOLOR makes 
it easy to play with possibilities. 

Documentation 

NewWord's documentation includes a 
420-page manual divided into three 
major sections: Do It Yourself, a 
tutorial that is organized into 12 sec- 
tions, each covering important word- 
processing tasks; Nuts and Bolts, a 
customization guide; and NewWord 
Encyclopedia, a reference manual. 
The manual was written for the CP/M 
version and has not been updated for 
the MS-DOS version, so it does not 
include the information required to 
make full use of some of NewWord's 
enhancements (such as built-in special 
printer drivers and programmable 
function keys). 

NewWord also includes the afore- 
mentioned Read Me First, a disk tutorial 
for word-processing novices, a Pocket 
Reference flyer, and a Do-It-Yourself 
supplement that describes condi- 
tional merge-print dot commands. 

Conclusions 

NewWord has some features Word- 
Star users have longed for (such as 
sophisticated yet flexible printer con- 
trol and the undo command, which 
reverses whatever you just did). How- 
ever, NewWord is not perfect. It can 
be slower than WordStar and it 
doesn't have some of the capabilities 
you might be dependent on if you've 
used WordStar more than casually. 
But at $249, NewWord is useful 
enough so that the lack of a few fea- 
tures is tolerable ■ 



294 B YTE • FEBRUARY 198^ 




SOFTWARE REVIEW 



]anuslAda 



A useful 



nonstandard 



by Mark J. Welch 



Ada is the U.S. Department of 
Defense's "Language of the 
Future." Although the DOD 
ordered that all defense contractors use 
tOOl TOT Ada beginning this year, a lack of available 

z ; —j — proven compilers has delayed its wide use. 

learning Ada Whether or not you agree with the DOD 

that Ada is the best language it will soon 
be the language of preference for govern- 
ment work. The DOD hopes that using a 
single standardized language will reduce 
maintenance costs for software. 

Microcomputer owners seeking to learn 
Ada will likely feel a sense of despair, since 
the compilers available for microcomputers 
are either partial implementations or non- 
standard subsets of the full Ada language. 

RR Software's Janus/Ada (version 1.4.7) is 
a nonstandard subset of Ada for MS-DOS 
and CP/M-80. Janus lacks most of the fea- 
tures that distinguish Ada from other high- 
level languages, and it includes a number 
of nonstandard features. 

However, Janus is a useful tool for learn- 
ing about a complex programming lan- 
guage; those who have tried realize how 
hard it is to learn any programming lan- 
guage by reading even the best books or 
magazines. For a written overview of Ada, 
see Sabina H. Saib's two-part tutorial "An* 
Ada Language Primer," in June 1984 BYTE, 
page 131, and July 1984, page 139. 

I used the MS-DOS version of Janus for 
the IBM PC. 1 am not an experienced Ada 
programmer; most lanus/Ada buyers will 
probably be in the same situation. 

Ada was originally designed for real-time 
applications like guiding missiles or pro- 
cessing radar data. 1 don't have access to 
guided missiles and Janus doesn't imple- 
ment Ada's concurrent tasking, so 1 wrote 
sample programs exercising Ada's useful- 
ness as a general-purpose language. Since 
Janus doesn't have built-in graphics libraries, 
I wrote a simple text-based adventure game 

I had written a similar adventure game in 
BASIC in about 10 hours. Programming the 
game in Janus/Ada took quite a bit longer, 



Mark I. Welch is a BYTE staff 

writer. He can be contacted at POB 

372. Hancock. NH 03449. 



perhaps due to my lack of experience. How- 
ever, the resulting code was more struc- 
tured and easier to understand and update 
later. 

I am familiar with Pascal, the language 
Ada most resembles. Pascal programmers 
should have an easier time learning Ada 
than those experienced in other, less struc- 
tured languages. A warning, though; the 
similarity between the languages is also 
confusing. I was often slow to locate an 
error because the illegal Janus/Ada line 
resembled valid Pascal code. 

Included with the compiler are several 
sample Janus/Ada programs translated from 
Pascal. While none of the programs are 
noteworthy, they show how some functions 
are implemented. 

After compiling several of the included 
packages, I wrote a simple program of my 
own to print a message, read a line of text, 
and echo it. It took four hours and a phone 
call to RR Software before I could compile 
the program. 

JANUS IS NOT Ada 

Janus is not an entirely accurate subset of 
Ada. The problem I battled for hours in- 
volved parameter calls. Standard Ada lets 
you call any function or procedure that 
assumes default parameter values by invok- 
ing its name. Janus— like an earlier version 
of Ada— requires that you add an empty set 
of parentheses so the use of default param- 
eters is explicitly stated. 

Because Janus doesn't use standard Ada 
strings, it does not have a simple way to 
read in a string with the valid Ada proce- 
dure: 

get(word); 

or 

get line(word); 

Instead, Janus excludes strings from the get 
procedure. You must use the get line func- 
tion instead of the get procedure. This 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 295 



REVIEW: JAN US/ADA 



AT A GLANCE 



Name 

Janus/Ada Compiler 

Type 

Ada programming language 
subset compiler 

Manufacturer 

RR Software Inc. 
2718 Dryden Dr. 
POB 1512 
Madison, Wl 53701 
(608) 244-6436 

Price 

$300 for CP/M-80 (not reviewed) 

$500 for MS-DOS 

$700 for MS-DOS with tools disk 

Format 

Three 5 1 /4-inch double-sided floppy 
disks (compiler, linker, and tools) 

Documentation 

237-page loose-leaf manual in 
three-ring binder 

Audience 

Applications software developers, 
Ada programmers, 
aspiring Ada programmers 



makes any program that uses I/O 
(input/output) nonstandard Ada. To 

read a string, you must call the get 

line function: 

word : = get line( ); 

Note the required parentheses. 

To make finished code look more 
like standard Ada, I created simple 
procedures to hide these nonstan- 
dard calls; if you compile such a pro- 
gram with a more complete Ada com- 
piler, you need to change only these 
procedures. 

janus's nonstandard array handling 
also creates problems. You can create 
patches to cover some missing fea- 
tures, but some of Ada's elegance is 
lost. For example, the valid Ada array 
assignment: 

y(1..10) := x(1..10); 

will copy each element of x(i) into the 
corresponding y(i) element. This won't 



work in Janus because Janus doesn't 
implement array or string "slicing." 
That is, it cannot access groups of ar- 
ray elements. If x and y are non-string 
arrays, the following replaces the 
above code: 

for i in 1..10 loop 

y(i):= x(i); 
end loop; — for i 

If x and y are strings, the job is 
tougher. An appendix to the manual 
explains several nonstandard sub- 
string functions and procedures. To 
do exactly the same as the original, 
I'd have to use: 

y := extract(y,11,length(y)); 
insert(y,extract(x,1,10),1); 

where the first line removes the first 
10 characters of y and the second in- 
serts the first 10 characters of x into 
the beginning of y. Somehow this 
lacks the simple elegance of the valid 
Ada array assignment. 

Separate Compilation 

Any Ada or Janus code can easily be 
bundled off in a separate segment 
and separately compiled. By doing 
this, several programmers can devel- 
op code independently, each know- 
ing only the names and parameters of 
the subprograms the others are de- 
veloping. Any changes made to the 
subprograms later will require only 
that dependent segments be recom- 
piled and the program relinked with 
a minimum of debugging. 

The Compiler 

The compiler makes four separate 
passes; I've only experienced errors 
on the first three. Much information 
is echoed to the screen, most of it 
useless to the typical user; during 
each pass of the source or inter- 
mediate code, screen symbols show 
that the compiler is working. 

When the compiler finds an error, 
it displays the guilty line and the line 
preceding it along with the line 
number; it points out the error and 
displays a fairly helpful error message. 

Run-time errors are more confusing. 
When an error occurs during run time, 
the system merely displays the error 



message and line number. Since my 
text editor isn't line-oriented, I had to 
count lines to find the error— not an 
easy task when the error is in line 675. 
Each compilation takes from two to 
five minutes, depending on the length 
of the file and on whether the file be- 
ing compiled is merely a specification 
or includes executable code. Long 
files can be broken into segments for 
separate compilation; this is helpful 
when a single procedure must be re- 
compiled many times during debug- 
ging. After all segments are compiled, 
you can link the main program and 
generate a .COM file. Like most com- 
pilers, Janus/Ada generates .COM files 
that are longer than the source code 
because library subprograms are 
linked into the file as well. 

Benchmark Performance 

Janus/Ada is not an optimized com- 
piler, nor does it optimize the code 
it generates. This is forgivable given 
its price and the speed with which it 
was brought to market. Still, it needs 
substantial performance improve- 
ments before I would use it for com- 
mercial software development. 

The Sieve program in Ada compiled 
in 184.7 seconds, linked in 15.1 
seconds, and ran in 29.4 seconds. 
Most, if not all, other language com- 
pilers on the IBM PC generate faster 
code more quickly. (RR Software in- 
cludes with the compiler a version of 
the Sieve program translated from 
Pascal to Ada that is different from the 
BYTE Ada Sieve benchmark.) 

The floating-point benchmark (list- 
ing 1) compiled in 184 seconds, linked 
in 15.8 seconds, and ran in 2.6 sec- 
onds. In this case, execution time was 
faster than the speed of several C 
compilers, although compilation 
speed was slow by comparison. Note 
that an 8087 coprocessor was used 
and that Janus can use floating-point 
numbers on the IBM PC only if it is 
equipped with this math coprocessor; 
no provision is made for floating-point 
arithmetic in software. 

A benchmark that computes 
Fibonacci numbers wouldn't run when 
translated because Janus/Ada doesn't 
support 16-bit unsigned integers; they 



296 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



REVIEW: JANUS/ADA 



cause a run-time error when the 

highest value is computed. When re- 
written to use Janus's long integer 

type, a stack/heap overflow occurs 
because Janus uses only 64 K bytes of 
memory for data. (It uses another 64K 
bytes for code.) The Quicksort and 
lOfile programs used in benchmark- 
ing compilers also use long integers 
but were not benchmarked. 

Janus's long integer type was not 

easy to figure out, even after several 
calls to RR Software. The manual 

notes that long integer is a standard 

type, but in fact you must use a 
separate library package called 
LONGOPS. Copies of the library pack- 
ages are included on disk, a fact I 
discovered only after calling the com- 
pany several times. 

Janus long integers can't be ma- 
nipulated like integers, since they're 
essentially user-defined types; addi- 
tion or type conversion has to be 
done using one of the functions in 
LONGOPS. As a result, a program 

using long integers in Janus looks 

radically different from one using in- 
tegers in a more standard compiler. 
Listing 2 shows the Fibonacci pro- 
gram in standard Ada; an overflow 
error is generated because the 24th 
Fibonacci number is a 16-bit unsigned 
number and Janus supports only 
1 5-bit unsigned or 16-bit signed inte- 
gers. Listing 3 shows the program con- 
verted to use the type long integer 

in Janus; a heap overflow occurs 
because of the deep recursion and 
large data space required. 

Documentation 

The Janus/Ada manual follows the for- 
mat of Ada's military standard refer- 
ence manual: each section mimics the 
reference manual and discusses any 
differences between Janus and Ada. 
The manual warns that it is not a com- 
plete guide and suggests that you 
have a copy of the Ada reference 
manual and an Ada textbook. 

The Janus manual refers to the Ada 
reference manual of 1980, which is no 
longer accurate; changes were made 
during the ANSI (American National 
Standards Institute) review process, 

{continued) 



Listing 1: The floating-point benchmark program translated from the C version. 



package body floatbch is 




constl : constant float : = 


3.141597E0; 


const2 : constant float : = 


1. 7839032 E4 


count : constant integer 


= 1000; 


a, b, 


c : float; 




i: integer; 




begin 


— float main program body 


a : = 


constl; 




b : = 


const2; 




for i 


in 1.. count loop 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




c 


= a * b; 




c 


= c / a; 




end 


loop; — for i 




put( 


"Done"); new line; 




end floatbch; 





Listing 2: The Fibonacci benchmark program in the standard Ada language 
translated from the C version as printed in BYTE, }une 1984, page 307. 



package body fibo is 
ntimes : constant integer 



number 
value 



constant integer 

integer; 

integer; 



= 10; 
= 24 



— # of times to compute fibonacci value 
— biggest we can compute in 16 bits 



function fib(x: in integer) return integer 


IS 


begin 








if x > 2 then 








return (fib(x - 1) 


+ fib(x - 


- 2)); 




else 








return 1; 








end if; 








end; — function fib 









begin — fibo 
put(ntimes); 
put(" iterations: "); 

new line; 

for i in 1.. ntimes loop 

value : = fib(n umber); 
end loop; — for i 
put("fibonacci("); 
put(number); 

putt") = "); 

put(value); 

new line; 

end; — fibo 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 297 



REVIEW: JANUS/ADA 



Listing 3: The Fibonacci benchmark program translated from C (BYTE, )une 
1984, page 307) into ]anusiAda using the necessary long integer type. 

with longops; 

package body fibo is 
use longops; 
ntimes : constant integer : = 10; — # of times to compute fibonacci value 

number: constant long integer ; = lint(24); — biggest we can compute 

'— in 16 bits 



one 

two 
value 

i 



constant long integer : = 

constant long integer : = 

long integer; 

long integer; 



lint(1); 

lint(2); 



function fib(x: in long integer) return long integer is 

begin 
if Lgt(x,two) then 

return Ladd(fib(Lsub(x,one)),fib(Lsub(x,two))); 
else 

return one; 
end if; 
end; — function fib 



begin — fibo 

put(ntimes); 

put(" iterations: "); 

new line; 

for i in 1.. ntimes loop 
value : = fib(number); 

end loop; — for i 

put ("fibonaccif'); 

put (I to_lnt(number)); 

put (") = "); 

put (L_to_lnt(value)); 

new line; 

end; — fibo 



Tkble 1: A partial list of unimplemented or nonstandard features of ]anus/Ada. 


Item 


Purpose/Difference 


Slices 


Allows references to sections of arrays or strings 




Example: a(1.,5) 


Strings 


Not Ada standard (dynamic length) 


Named/default 


Allows default input parameters or 


parameters 


named parameters in subprogram call 




Examples: attack(enemy = > sam, weapon = > knife); 




attack(enemy = > fred); 




procedure attack (enemy: IN person : m dave; 




weapon: IN tools : = gun); 


Tasks 


Ada's multitasking facilities 


Exceptions 


Exception/error-handling facilities 


Generics 


Subprograms can be easily redefined for new data types 




Example: 




procedure EXCHANGE (u,v: in out ELEM ) is 




t: ELEM; 




begin 




t : = u; u : = v; v : = t; 




end EXCHANGE, 




procedure swap is new EXCHANGE (character); 




procedure swap is new EXCHANGE(ELEM - > integer); 



You need to rewrite 
]anus programs to run 
on an Ada compiler. 



and the true Ada is now reflected in 
the reference manual of January 1983. 
(Like its manual, Janus conforms to 
the earlier version of Ada.) 

A fairly complete index is included 
in the manual, but some items are 
omitted. When 1 tried to learn about 
string-handling routines, for example 
I found that section 15— which in- 
cludes the list of string functions— was 
not in the index under "string." 

As noted above, the manual says 

that long integer is a standard type, 

although it isn't. RR Software admits 
that the manual (version 3.2) is behind 
the compiler. 

Summary 

The Ada Joint Program Office (AJPO) 
insists that any partial implementation 
of Ada be so marked and all missing 
features be clearly identified. RR Soft- 
ware includes a list of implemented 
and unimplemented features in its 
brochure and its documentation. 
Some of the most significant missing 
features are listed in table 1. 

While missing Ada features make 
experience with Janus less helpful to 
programmers, its nonstandard imple- 
mentations of other features can be 
downright confusing. String and file 
handling are nonstandard, which 
means that you will need to rewrite 
almost all Janus programs in order to 
run them on a valid Ada compiler. 

RR Software expected the next ver- 
sion of Janus/Ada to be available in 
the fall of 1984 and said that many ex- 
tensions and changes would be made 
to the compiler. The new version 
might be available by the time you 
read this article. 

While Janus is not a true implemen- 
tation and lacks many of Ada's fea- 
tures, it is a useful, inexpensive tool 
for those wishing to learn the lan- 
guage before true Ada compilers are 
available for microcomputers. ■ 



298 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



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Inquiry 181 FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 





SYSTEM REVIEW 



Epson 



strikes back 



by Rich Malloy 



The Epson Geneva PX-8 



Rich Malloy is a senior technical 

editor for BYTE. He can be 

contacted at BYTE, 43 rd Floor. 

1221 Avenue of the Americas. 

New York. NY 10020. 



The Epson Geneva PX-8 (see photo 
1 ) has a low-power CMOS (comple- 
mentary metal-oxide semiconduc- 
tor) version of the Z80 processor, 64 K bytes 
of CMOS memory, 32 K bytes of permanent 
ROM (read-only memory), an 8-line by 
80-character LCD (liquid-crystal display), a 
rechargeable battery, a full-size keyboard, 
and a microcassette drive. In addition, the 
PX-8 comes with a full complement of soft- 
ware: the CP/M operating system (version 
2,2), WordStar, CalcStar. BASIC a schedul- 
ing program, and a communications pro- 
gram. This package ($995), in combination 
with a healthy supply of expansion hard- 
ware makes the PX-8 a good second com- 
puter, especially for people with CP/M 
systems. 

Hardware 

At five pounds and with physical dimen- 
sions just slightly larger than a heavily 
packed three-ring binder, the PX-8 is quite 
at home in a briefcase With its LCD folded 
tightly and a plastic cover over its keyboard, 
it is fairly well protected for the ordeals of 
the road. There is even a large plastic han- 
dle that slides out near the keyboard. When 
you want to use it, the cover quickly slides 
off and the display unfolds to the desired 
angle revealing a speaker and microcas- 
sette drive. 

On the rear panel of the PX-8 are several 
ports: an RS-232C DIN (Deutsche Institut fur 
Normung, the German standards organiza- 
tion) connector, a serial DIN connector (for 
an optional floppy-disk drive), a connector 
for a bar-code reader, an external speaker 
connector, and a 50-pin expansion connec- 
tor covered by a plastic strip. The power 
switch is conveniently placed on the right 
side of the unit. 

Display 

The size of the Geneva's LCD is acceptable, 
but it is a little hard to read (see photo 2). 
You can adjust the display to whatever 
angle gives you the least glare and the most 



contrast, and you can adjust the screen con- 
trast further by sliding a switch that's below 
the screen. 

The PX-8 can display 8 lines of 80 char- 
acters each. (The characters are composed 
on a 5- by 7-pixel matrix inside a 6- by 
8-pixel matrix.) However, lowercase letters 
such as g and y do not have descenders, 
and you can't display in reverse video (i.e., 
light character on dark background). The 
characters are much smaller and thinner 
than those on the TRS-80 Model 100, and 
the screen is slower, but the Epson does 
display twice as many characters. 

The screen displays all 96 standard ASCII 
(American Standard Code for Information 
Interchange) characters plus 32 common 
graphics symbols (codes 128-1 59 decimal), 
which are compatible with some Epson 
printers but not with the IBM-compatible 
ones. Character sets are available for France 
Germany, U.K., Denmark, Sweden, Italy, 
Spain, and Norway. 

The PX-8's keyboard is similar to but bet- 
ter than the HX-20's (see photo 3). It has 
four cursor keys above the Return key and 
a Help key plus five function keys in the 
upper left. And there are indicators for 
caps-lock and num-lock features. 

Memory 

The PX-8 uses a low-power CMOS version 
of the Z80 microprocessor with a clock rate 
of 2.45 MHz. In tests with BASIC and Calc- 
Star, it appeared slower than most other of- 
fice computers at calculating. The PX-8 also 
uses two slave processors. A 6303 controls 
access to the display, the external disk drive 
and the application ROM chips, among 
other things. A 7508 works with the system 
clock and keyboard and controls the 
Geneva's alarm features. 

The Geneva comes with 64 K bytes of 
CMOS memory that is always on; even if the 
main battery fails, a small backup battery 
keeps the memory chips powered on for a 
week or so until you can recharge it. The 
only event that should clear memory is if 



302 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



you press a special hidden reset button on 
the bottom of the machine and do a cold 
reboot. You can set part of the memory up 
as a RAM disk with a size of 2 K to 24K 
bytes. 

The operating system is held in 32K bytes 
of ROM. When you turn on the system, it 
replaces (bank-switches) the lower 32 K 
bytes of RAM (random-access read/write 
memory) with this ROM. When you run an 
application, the system bank-switches the 
RAM back into this location. The net result 
is a virtual 96K-byte machine. 

The machine has two sockets for ROM 
chips hidden under a panel on the bottom 
of the Computer. The software bundled with 
the PX-8 comes on four 32K-byte ROM 
chips: one each for CP/M system utilities, 
WordStar, BASIC, and a combination of 
CalcStar and a scheduling program. Only 
two of these chips can be resident in the 
machine at one time. 

Epson has done a good job of imple- 
menting a microcassette drive in the 
Geneva. Even though it looks and acts like 
a tape drive the operating system sees it 
as a disk drive, albeit a slow one. It even 
has its own directory and drive specification 
(H:). However, it has some quirks. To save 
time, the system doesn't write the directory 
onto the cassette until you tell it that you 
are going to remove the tape. If you forget 
to tell the system, some data stored on the 
cassette will be lost. 

A 60-minute cassette (30 minutes per 
side) stores up to 12 files and up to 60K 
bytes per side. 

You can also use the microcassette drive 
much like a regular audio-tape drive. Under 
certain conditions, the programmable func- 
tion keys can simulate the control keys on 
a cassette tape player. You can even use it 
to listen to your audio cassettes, but the 
volume is very low. 

The PX-8 is powered by an internal nicad 
(nickel-cadmium) battery, which can supply 
full power for about 1 5 hours. (Use of the 
microcassette drive or serial port shortens 



this time.) You can recharge the battery with 
a small transformer that plugs into any 
power outlet. A full recharge takes about 
8 hours, longer if you use the machine dur- 
ing the process. 

Interfaces 

The Geneva has a number of interfaces for 
external peripherals. The most useful is 
probably the RS-232C serial port configured 
as a round eight-pin DIN jack. It has pins 
for all the most commonly used signals— 
GND, TD. RD. RTS, CTS, DSR, DTR, DCD, and 
FG (frame ground)— and a maximum speed 
of 19,200 bps (bits per second). You can use 
two protocols: SI/SO (shift in/shift out), 
which can transmit a full 256 characters 
over a 7-bit communications link, and 
XON/XOFF. 

To use the RS-232C port you need to pur- 
chase a DIN/DB-25 converter cable (approx- 
imately $2 5). Although we didn't test a large 
number of serial devices, we found the 
Geneva worked well with an Epson acoustic 
modem and with an IBM Personal Com- 
puter (PC) using a null modem adapter. 

{continued} 




Photo I: The Epson Geneva PX-8 computer, shown with optional battery- 
powered Vh-inch floppy-disk drive. Note the internal microcassette drive located 
between the keyboard and the display. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 303 



REVIEW: EPSON GENEVA PX-8 



The PX-8 has another similar con- 
nector labeled serial, which you can 
use to connect an external disk drive 
(at 38,400 bps) or a serial printer (at 
4800 bps). It also has three other 
ports: an external speaker jack (in ad- 
dition to the internal speaker), an 
analog input jack (which connects to 
an internal analog-to-digital (A/D) con- 
verter, 0-2 volts, 6 bits of resolution), 
and a connector for a bar-code 
reader. 



One interface noticeably absent is 
a parallel printer interface. Another 
desirable connection would be for a 
full-size 80- by 24-character display. 

The PF-10 portable 3!/ 2 -inch disk 
drive (see photo 1) is available for 
$599. Powered by an internal battery, 
it is rechargeable by the same trans- 
former that recharges the Geneva. 
The disk drive can store about 320K 
bytes on a 3!/2-inch microfloppy disk 
and connects to the PX-8 with a short 




Photo 2: The display of the Epson PX-8. Under certain lighting conditions this 
80-character by 8-line display can be difficult to read. 




Photo 3: The keyboard of the Epson PX-8. In this picture the display is folded down 
over the microcassette drive. Note the second Control key to the right of the space bar 
and the caps-lock, num-lock, and insert-mode indicators above the zero key. 



cable through the serial port. You can 
connect two disk drives in daisy-chain 
fashion. The data-transmission rate is 
38,400 bps, slower than the parallel 
connections most disk drives use. 
When you purchase the disk drive, 
you also get the following familiar 
CP/M utilities: FORMAT, DISKCOPY, 
ED, DDT, ASM, LOAD, and DUMP 

Expansion 

The Geneva has some other interest- 
ing accessories. All are wedge-shaped 
modules that attach to the bottom of 
the computer and connect through 
the 50-pin expansion bus. These 
modules add little to the size and 
weight of the unit and elevate the key- 
board to a comfortable typing angle. 

The first of these are memory-ex- 
pansion modules (see photo 4), which 
come in two flavors: 60K bytes ($329) 
and 120K bytes ($460). Since the Z80 
microprocessor can address only the 
basic 64 K bytes of memory, the sec- 
ond and third 60K-byte segments are 
set up as a RAM drive. 

A second add-on module is a direct- 
connect, 300-bps modem ($180). A 
third module combines that modem 
with 60K bytes of memory for $360. 
We did not test either of these 
modules. 

These expansion units all connect 
through the 50-pin expansion-bus 
connector on the back of the com- 
puter. This connector was not de- 
signed for easy access, but once you 
attach an accessory you probably 
won't have to touch it again. 

Software 

The Geneva comes equipped with 
128K bytes of software on ROM 
chips— four 32K-byte chips. The first 
one contains the BASIC interpreter; 
the second, some CP/M utilities; the 
third. Portable WordStar; and the 
fourth, a combination of Portable Calc 
(CalcStar) and Portable Scheduler. 
Only two of these chips can be pres- 
ent in the system at one time (see 
photo 5). 

The Geneva's operating system has 
some interesting features. First, it all 
resides on yet another ROM chip, 

{continued) 



304 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



AT A GLANCE 



Name 

Geneva PX-8 

Manufacturer 

Epson America 
2780 Lomita Blvd. 
Torrance, CA 90505 
(213)539-9140 

Size 

11.7 by 8.5 by 1.9 inches 
(29.7 by 21.6 by 4.8 cm), 
5.1 pounds (2.3 kg) 

Components 

Display: 80-character by 
8-line LCD, 480- by 64-pixel 
graphics 

Keyboard: 72 keys, 4 cursor 
keys, 5 programmable 
function keys 

Processor: Z80-compatible, 
low- power CMOS version, 
2.45-MHz clock speed 
Memory: 64K RAM; 6K RAM 
for display; 32K ROM 
(system); 64K ROM 
(applications) 

Power: Nicad battery rated 
at 15 hours, small 
transformer/recharger 
Options: 320K, 3 1 /2-inch disk 
drive ($599); 60K memory 
expansion ($329); 120K 
memory expansion ($460); 
300- bps, direct-con nect 
modem ($180); combination 
60K memory plus modem 
($360) 

Software 

CP/M 2.2, BASIC (Microsoft), 
Portable WordStar, Portable 
Calc, Portable Scheduler, 
TERM (communications) 

Documentation 

Five manuals 

Price 

$995 



EPSON 



r 




MEMORY SIZE (K BYTES) 

200 400 600 



DISK STORAGE (K BYTES) 
400 800 1200 



13 












11 



























m 





BUNDLED SOFTWARE PACKAGES 

2 4 6 8 



PRICE ($1000) 
10 2 





EPSON PX-8 



IBM PC 



APPLE HE 



The Memory Size graph shows the standard 
and optional memory available for the com- 
puters under comparison. The graph of Disk 
Storage capacity shows the highest capacity 
of one and two floppy-disk drives for each 
system. The Bundled Software Packages graph 
shows the number of software packages in- 
cluded with each system. The Price graph 



shows the list price of a system with two high- 
capacity floppy-disk drives; a monochrome 
monitor; graphics and color-display capability; 
a printer port and a serial port; 256K bytes of 
memory (64K for 8- bit systems); and the stan- 
dard operating system and standard BASIC in- 
terpreter for each system. Note that the price 
of the Epson does not include a disk drive. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 305 




The rear panel reveals (among other things) a speaker jack, an 
expansion bus, and an RS-232C port. 



DISK ACCESS IN BASIC (SEC) 



A look inside the PX-8 shows the processor chips (left) and the 
ROM chips (lower center). 







200 






150 




157 










114 














100 














50 




56 


46 








37 




36 








b 




n 




ily 





BASIC PERFORMANCE (SEC) 
250 



150 



100 



50 



N/A 





WRITE 



SYSTEM UTILITIES (SEC) 
50 



READ 



SIEVE 



CALCULATIONS 




SPREADSHEET (SEC) 
25 




40K FORMAT /DISK COPY 40K FILE COPY 



LOAD 



RECALCULATE 



U EPSON RAM DISK 



EPSON PX-8 



APPLE TIE 



The graphs for Disk Access in BASIC show how long it takes to write 
a 64K-byte sequential text file to a blank floppy disk and how long 
it takes to read this file. (For the program listings see June 1984 BYTE, 
page 327, and October 1984, page 33.) The Sieve column shows 
how long it takes to run one iteration of the Sieve of Eratosthenes 
prime-number benchmark. Note that the Epson could not run the 
Sieve test because of insufficient available memory. The Calculations 
column shows how long it takes to do 10,000 multiplication and divi- 
sion operations using single-precision numbers. The System Utilities 



graph shows how long it takes to format and copy a disk (adjusted 
time for 40K bytes of disk data). The file-copy test involved copying 
a file from one part of a floppy disk to another. The Spreadsheet 
graph shows how long the computers take to load and recalculate 
a 25- by 25-eell spreadsheet where each cell equals 1.001 times 
the cell to its left. The spreadsheet programs used were Portable 
Calc for the Epson and Microsoft Multiplan for the others. The tests 
for the Apple lie were done with the ProDOS operating system. The 
lie Multiplan test was done with DOS 3.3, the IBM with PC-DOS 2.0. 



306 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



REVIEW: EPSON GENEVA PX-8 



which is permanently installed in the 
system. Second, when you turn the 
machine on for the first time, the sys- 
tem asks you how much memory you 
want in your RAM disk— from 2K to 
24K bytes. Thereafter when you turn 
on the system, you see a menu of all 
the files on a particular drive. (By drive 
I refer to any device: a disk, a RAM 
drive, a microcassette tape. The oper- 
ating system treats them all alike.) You 
then move the cursor to the program 
or document you want and press the 
Enter key. This loads the selected pro- 
gram into RAM and executes it. 

If you press Control-Help, you see 
the System Display, which includes in- 
formation on various operat- 
ing-system parameters. The display 
contains the date and time, the size 
of the RAM disk, whether or not a 
password is in effect, which drives are 
listed on the menu, and which data 
files are linked to which programs. 

The password feature on this 
machine is pretty secure. If you set a 
password, the machine won't do 
anything until you give it the correct 
one. The only way around it is to do 
a cold reboot and lose all your data. 

You can turn the menu on or off and 
choose which drives are to be listed 
on the menu and in which order. 

The System Display also lets you 
control the cassette drive manually. 
The function keys become like the 
controls on a tape recorder. 

In practice, the menu is quite useful, 
but sometimes it gets in the way. For 
example, it is hard to enter a com- 
mand such as STAT A: * . *— how many 
files are on the A drive and how large 
are they. Tb do this you must leave the 
menu by hitting Escape. Fortunately, 
you can turn the menu on or off. 

The most significant piece of soft- 
ware in the Geneva is the ROM-based 
version of WordStar. Despite its small 
size, this version seems to contain 
most of the features of the larger ver- 
sion. The only features lacking are cer- 
tain printing capabilities. 

The spreadsheet supplied with the 
PX-8 is Portable Calc, a ROM-based 
version of CalcStar. Portable Calc per- 
formed our standard recalculation 

{continued) 



Tkble 1 ; Word-processing benchmarks for Portable WordStar on the Epson 
Geneva PX-8 (times in seconds). In many tests the Epson with a RAM disk 
performs as fast or faster than a floppy-disk-based IBM PC There are two 
glaring exceptions, however: the scroll test and any test involving the Epson's 
floppy disk. All tests were done using a standard BYTE 4000-word test file 
(2 IK bytes). The RAM disk used was a \2SK-byte external memory-expansion 
module. The data for the IBM PC was obtained using an IBM PC with 
WordStar version 3.3, DOS 2.0, two floppy-disk drives, and a monochrome 
monitor and adapter. 



Geneva PX-8 

RAM disk Floppy disk 



IBM PC 



Load text file 


8.3 


17.3 


9.9 


Save text file 


15.6 


80.0 


24.2 


Search 


12.5 


37.6 


10.5 


Scroll 


287.0 


n.a. 


41.2 




Photo 4: The optional memory-expansion module for the Epson PX-8, shown ready to 
attach to the bottom of the computer. 




Photo 5: The sockets for the Epson's ROM chips are hidden in a special compartment 
on the bottom of the machine. A soft metallic sheet minimizes radio-frequency 
interference in the surrounding environment. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 307 



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REVIEW: EPSON GENEVA PX-8 



test as fast as Multiplan did on the 
Apple He, and it was much faster than 
the CalcStar version that comes with 
the 1 6-bit Sanyo MBC 550. 

Portable Scheduler runs rings 
around the SCHED program on the 
Radio Shack Model I OO and ap- 
proaches the usefulness of the 
scheduler features on the HP 7 5 por- 
table. You can set an alarm, and you 
can have the computer remind you of 
a series of appointments. 

BASIC AND CP/M 

The BASIC interpreter on the Geneva 
takes up about 32K bytes of memory, 
compared to about 16K bytes used by 
the Model 100's BASIC. The Geneva 
version lets you do quite a few more 
things; for example, you can access 
the alarm features directly from 
BASIC. It also includes AUTO (auto- 
matic line numbering) and WHILE 
. . . WEND. Both BASICS were 
created by Microsoft, and they are 
fairly compatible. 

In terms of performance, the 
Geneva's BASIC does not compare 
well with desktop-machine versions. 
The results of our single-precision 
calculation test were significantly 
slower on the Epson than on the IBM 
PC and the Apple He. Also, we could 
not get our Sieve of Eratosthenes test 
to run. Of course, anything that in- 
volved disk accesses was significant- 
ly slower. 

Finally, we come to the utility pro- 
grams of CP/M version 2.2, such as 
copy files (PIP), check disk or RAM- 
drive status (STAT), and perform 
several different programs in se- 
quence (SUBMIT). To these programs 
Epson has added a configuration utili- 
ty and two communications pro- 
grams. 

TERM is a general-purpose program 
for communicating with other com- 
puters via phone or direct connection. 
It doesn't support automatic dialing 
or logging on, but it is quite easy to 
use. FILINK is for file transfer to and 
from an Epson QX-IO. We didn't test 
this program. 

The practicality of these application 
programs is somewhat limited by the 
fact that only two ROM chips can be 



present in the PX-8 at one time. If, 
however, you have one of the optional 
memory-expansion modules, you can 
load some of the more useful utilities 
into the RAM drive, then remove the 
CP/M utility chip and use that socket 
for another ROM chip. 

One advantage of owning a CP/M 
system is that you potentially have a 
wide selection of available software. 
The Geneva display and keyboard 
emulate a Soroc IQ-120 terminal, and, 
theoretically, the Epson can run any 
CP/M software that is compatible with 
the Soroc. In actuality, the Geneva 
doesn't support features such as high- 
intensity or inverse-video characters, 
and although it has a virtual screen 
of 24 lines, its physical screen has only 
8. According to Bob Diaz of Epson, 
most of the simple CP/M utility pro- 
grams such as DU and CATALOG run 
on the Geneva. More complex CP/M 
programs, such as PeachText, will run 
but with some minor problems. And 
CP/M programs customized for a par- 
ticular terminal or computer probably 
won't run at all. 

Documentation 

The documentation for the Geneva 
and its software is, on the whole, 
good. The manuals are typeset, well 
written, accurate, and practically 
devoid of typographical errors. I was 
particularly impressed with the easy- 
to-read Portable WordStar manual, 
which included a reference card and 
stick-on labels for certain keys. 

The main manual lists the entry ad- 
dresses and functions of all the BIOS 
(basic input/output system) and BDOS 
(basic disk operating system) routines 
of the Geneva's version of CP/M. 

Summary 

After the disappointment of the 
Epson HX-20, the Geneva PX-8 repre- 
sents a giant improvement. It is, at this 
time, the most powerful 8-bit portable 
available. And its price of $995 makes 
it fairly affordable. With the CP/M 2.2 
operating system, the Geneva is an 
ideal second computer for CP/M sys- 
tem owners. It is also a good second 
computer for people who use Word- 
Star on a desktop system. ■ 



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I 



SOFTWARE REVIEW 

TWo Modula-2 Compilers 
for the IBM PC 



A great buy 



professional 
system 



by Kevin Bowyer 



Two Modula-2 compilers are avail- 
able for the IBM PC and run under 
pc " DOS - Both are adaptations of 

^- the original Modula-2 compiler developed 

against a at the ETH (Federal Institute of Technology, 
Zurich, Switzerland) to run on the Lilith per- 
sonal workstation. One is the Modula Re- 
search Institute (MRI) Modula-2 compiler, 
version 1.35, available for $40 from the 
Modula Research Institute in Provo, Utah. 
The other is the Logitech Modula-2 /86 com- 
piler version 1.0, available for $495 from 
Logitech Inc. in Redwood City, California. 
The one other Modula-2 compiler for the 
IBM PC is marketed by Volition Systems of 
Del Mar, California. However, this compiler 
runs under the UCSD p-System and so is 
not directly comparable to the two I discuss 
here. [Editor's note: A PC-DOS version of this com- 
piler has recently become available.] 

The MRI and Logitech compilers have 
many similarities traceable to their common 
ancestor. The essential difference between 
them is that the MRI compiler generates M- 
code, the machine language developed at 
ETH for the Lilith workstations, whereas the 
Logitech compiler generates 8088 machine 
language The noticeable differences in 
compilation and program execution speed 
are a result of this difference. 



Required Resources 

The Logitech compiler requires an IBM PC 
equipped with an 8087 numeric copro- 
cessor chip, two double-sided disk drives, 
and at least 1 70K bytes of RAM (random- 
access read/write memory) in addition to 
whatever space the operating system uses. 
It runs under PC-DOS 1.1 or 2.0. A practical 
minimum for using the Logitech Modula-2 
compiler with PC-DOS 2.0 is 2 56K bytes of 
memory. The MRI compiler might function 
on a system of two single-sided disk drives 
and 128K bytes of RAM, but a practical 
minimum is two double-sided drives and 
196K bytes of RAM. 

I did all the testing for this comparison 
on a PC XT with 2 56K bytes of RAM. Judg- 



Kevin Bowyer is on the faculty of 

Computer Science and Engineering 

at the University of South Florida 

in Tampa. He was previously on the 

faculty of the Swiss Federal Institute 

of Technology in Zurich. He received 

his Ph.D. in Computer Science from 

Duke University. Among several 

books he has written are An 

Introduction to Modula-2 

{R£ston Publishing, available early 

1985, co-authored with Warren 

Jones of the University of Alabama 

at Birmingham) and Pascal for 

the IBM PC (Robert J. Brady Co.). 



ing by the number of disk accesses made 
by either system, enough extra internal 
memory to create an "electronic disk" 
would greatly increase speed. 

Ease of Use 

Both the MRI and Logitech systems require 
some care in setting up the original con- 
figuration. You have to decide where to put 
the many files that make up either system, 
and your CONFIG.SYS file at the root level 
of the file system must have certain options. 
All this is well described in the documen- 
tation and should present no problem. 

Neither the MRI nor the Logitech com- 
piler runs directly from PC-DOS. Nor do 
they produce standard EXE or COM format 
files, so the programs created with the com- 
pilers cannot be executed directly from PC- 
DOS. The MRI system runs its own "shell," 
or command interpreter, on top of PC-DOS. 
The compiler and any programs that you 
write are run from this shell. The Logitech 
system is similar. While it doesn't have a 
shell that stays resident on top of PC-DOS, 
it does have a "run-time system" that you 
have to invoke for running the compiler or 
programs created with the compiler. 

Since neither the Logitech nor MRI system 
includes a text editor, you must use your 
own (or EDLIN) to prepare a standard PC- 
DOS text file that contains the program's 
source code. Assume that you have already 
prepared a source program in the file SAM- 
PLE.MOD. You can start up the MRI shell 
with the command interp. The MRI shell 
then displays the copyright notice and an 
asterisk prompt. You can now run the com- 
piler by entering the command modula. You 
can run the resulting compiled program by 
entering its name. When you want to leave 
the MRI shell, you type Control-C 

In the case of the Logitech system, you 
invoke the compiler from PC-DOS with the 
command m2 comp. The m2 is the name 
of the Logitech run-time system, so any 
Logitech program running under PC-DOS 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 311 



REVIEW: COMPILERS 



must be prefaced with m2 at run time. 
Both systems will then prompt you 
for the source file and give almost 
exactly the same messages as the 
compiler progresses: 



p1 



source file sample.mod 



InOut: C:!nOut.SYM 
P2 
P3 
P 4 

end compilation 

The sameness of the messages 
reflects the origin of both compilers— 
the Modula-2 compiler developed at 
ETH. The four-pass structure of the 
compilers is a carryover from the 
original Lilith compiler, which was 
ported from a PDP-I 1 Modula-2 com- 
piler that had to run in a small address 
space. 
Unlike the MRI system, the output 



Listing I: "Hello. World!' program. 



MODULE sample; 

FROM InOut IMPORT WriteString; 

BEGIN 

WriteStringO'Hello, World!"); 
END sample. 



of the Logitech compiler must under- 
go a separate link step before it can 
be executed. The linker collects all the 
separately compiled parts of the pro- 
gram and groups them into a single 
load file. The m2 command executes 
this load file. 

The MRI interpreter takes rather 
long to load into memory: about 10 
seconds on a hard-disk system, more 
with a floppy-disk system. This can 
be annoying if you have to leave and 
reenter the interpreter to use an 
editor for correcting errors in your 
program. For this reason, the MRI 
shell incorporates an "escape to 
DOS" feature. You can enter an ex- 
clamation point to start up a copy of 
the PC-DOS command interpreter 
(COMMAND.COM) on top of the MRI 
shell. Then you can edit your program 
and return to the MRI system with the 
exit command. 



Listing 2: Nothing to the nearest 

integer program. 

MODULE sample; 
VAR i, j, sum: INTEGER; 
BEGIN 
sum : = 0; 

FOR i := 1 TO 1000 DO 
FOR j ;= 100 TO 1 BY - 1 DO 
sum := sum + (i-j) + (j-i); 
END; 
END; 
END sample. 



Listing 3: Extended 


-precision 


nothing program. 


MODULE sample; 
VAR x, y: ARRAY[1 . 

sum: REAL; 
VAR i, j: INTEGER; 


100] OF REAL; 




BEGIN 
FOR i:« 1 TO 100 DO <* 
x[i] : = FLOAT(i); y[i] : = 


initialize *) 
'LOAT(i); 


END; 


sum := 0.0; 

FOR i := 1 TO 100 DO 
FOR j := i TO 100 DO 
sum := sum + x[j]*y[j] 
sum : = sum / FLOAT(i); 
END; 
END; 
END sample. 


- y01*x[j]; 





The escape-to-DOS feature works 
quite well and is much faster than the 
alternative most of the time. However, 
if you change directories while in DOS 
and forget to change back before re- 
turning to the MRI shell, things get 
hopelessly confused and you have to 
reboot the system. If you want to use 
the escape-to-DOS feature and have 
the MRI software in a subdirectory of 
the file system, you need to place a 
copy of COMMAND.COM in the same 
directory as the MRI software 

Speed 

After running lots of small test pro- 
grams, I am convinced that Logitech's 
compiler is substantially slower than 
the one from MRI. However, the Logi- 
tech compiler can produce programs 
that execute much faster than those 
produced with the MRI compiler. A 
program that does nothing but write 
"Hello, World!" to the display (listing 
1) compiles in a little less than 40 sec- 
onds with the MRI compiler and 
about 65 seconds under the Logitech 
system. This does not include time for 
the link step required by the Logitech 
system, which takes another minute or 
so. 

An equivalent IBM PC-DOS Pascal 
program could be compiled and 
linked in under 30 seconds— even 
though it involves entering three 
separate commands to PC-DOS 
(PAS1, PAS2, and LINK). Neither 
Modula-2 system could be called 
speedy as far as compile time is 
concerned. 

If program execution speed is what 
you are after, Logitech's compile time 
might be worth waiting for. The Logi- 
tech compiler can produce programs 
that are many times faster than those 
produced by the MRI system. Another 
trivial example program (listing 2), 
using nested loops and integer arith- 
metic, takes about 20 seconds for the 
MRI system to compile and some- 
thing over 60 seconds to execute. The 
Logitech system takes 55 seconds to 
compile the same program, again not 
counting the required link step. (The 
link step would be quick here because 
there are no IMPORTS from sepa- 
rately compiled modules.) However, 



312 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



REVIEW: COMPILERS 



the Logitech program executes in 
about 8 seconds— which is less than 
one-sixth the time of the MRI 
program. 

Both systems compile this second 
example more quickly than the first 
one, even though the executable part 
is more complex. This is because the 
first example imports a procedure 
from a separate module. Nearly any 
useful Modula-2 program will import 
procedures from at least one module, 
if for no other reason than to do in- 
put/output (I/O). Importing objects 
from separate modules takes time 
because the compiler must read the 
definition of the module and check it 
against the IMPORT clause. 

For one more comparison on com- 
piler and execution speed, I ran the 
Sieve of Eratosthenes prime-number 
generator used as ^ benchmark in 
previous BYTE articles (see reference 
1). The Logitech compiler took about 
65 seconds to process the program, 
25 seconds to link, and about 17 
seconds to execute. The MRI compiler 
took about 55 seconds to process the 
program and nearly 3 minutes to ex- 
ecute it. (The definition of "execution 
time" here is the same as that used 
in the article referenced above: the 
time between seeing the messages 
from the two output statements in the 
benchmark program.) 

Real Numbers 

The MRI and Logitech compilers are 
similar in how they represent all the 
standard data types except real. The 
MRI system implements real values as 
32-bit quantities, and arithmetic oper- 
ations on these values are performed 
in software. The Logitech system uses 
64-bit real numbers and can generate 
code for the 8087 numeric copro- 
cessor. For a PC with the 8087 in- 
stalled, this can be a great advantage. 
Consider the program in listing 3. 

The MRI compiler took just under 
30 seconds to compile this program, 
and the resulting program took about 
2 5 seconds to execute. The Logitech 
compiler took just over 50 seconds to 
compile the program, but the result- 
ing program executed in about 3 sec- 
Icon tiwued) 



AT A GLANCE 



Name 

MRI Modula-2 Compiler 

Vendor 

Modula Research Institute 
950 North University Ave. 
Provo, UT 84604 
(801) 375-7402 

Computer 

IBM PC or compatible 

Price 

$40 plus $2.50 shipping and handling 

Audience 

Anyone who wants a good, inexpensive 
introduction to Modula-2 on the PC 



COMPILE TIME (SEC) 
125 




300 



200 



100 



$40 



^ $495 



Name 

Logitech Modula-2/86 

Vendor 

Logitech Inc. 
805 Veterans Blvd. 
Redwood City, CA 94063 
(415) 365-9852 

Computer 

IBM PC or compatible 

Price 

$495 

Audience 

Anyone who wants to develop software 
using Modula-2 and the 8087 numeric 
coprocessor chip; the 8087 is required 
with Modula-2/86 



EXECUTE TIME (SEC) 



CVVJ 

160 
120 


180 








80 








40 




60 

















* 






*rMi 



KEY 

f I MRI 

^3 LOGITECH 

1 = LISTING 1 PROGRAM 

2 = LISTING 2 PROGRAM 

3= SIEVE OF ERATOSTHENES 
* = NOT TIMED 



Note that the Logitech compiler requires an 
8087 coprocessor and the MRI compiler 
does not support the 8087, so execution 
times do not involve commensurable 
hardware. Compile times for the Logitech 



compiler include link times. The Logitech 
compiles to 8088 machine code, while the 
MRI compiles to M-code and operates as 
an M-code-to-8088 interpreter at run 
time 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 313 



Inquiry 60 



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REVIEW: COMPILERS 



onds on a PC XT equipped with the 

8087 numeric coprocessor. 

Compiler Directives 

Compiler directives in Modula-2 are 
specified much the same as in Pascal. 
The directive letter and setting are 
given inside a comment. The Logitech 
compiler has three directives: 

(*$R + *) code generation for sub- 
range and type 
checking 

(*$T+ *) index testing (arrays, 
case statements) 

(*$S+ *) stack overflow 

The directives can be turned off by 
using a minus sign instead of a plus 
sign, or an equal sign can be used to 
change the setting back to the previ- 
ous value. 

Directives work the same way in the 
MRI system, but only the first two of 
the three options above are available. 
Both systems also allow several pos- 
sible options on the command line 
that invokes the compiler. Among 
these are a listing file and prompting 
for the names of symbol files. 

Language Extensions 

Both compilers claim to accept the 
same Modula-2 language as defined 
by the Modula-2 report (see reference 
2). However, the Logitech system has 
the advantage of some extra PC- 
specific routines available in the Sys- 
tem module. Technically these don't 
count as extensions to the language, 
but most users will think of them that 
way. Among the extensions are rou- 
tines to read and set the values of 

8088 registers; enable, disable, and 
initiate interrupts; read and write to 
the 8088 I/O ports; and generate a call 
to the DOS system interrupt. 

The MRI System module contains 
only procedures defined in the 
Modula-2 report. It might be easier to 
write processor and operating-system- 
specific programs with Logitech 
Modula-2. 

To test whether these compilers 
might be useful to owners of PC-com- 
patibles, I checked them out on a 
Compaq portable equipped with two 
floppy-disk drives and 2 56K bytes of 



memory. Both compilers ran several 
small examples properly Both also 
seemed painfully slow— with all the file 
I/O, a hard-disk drive is almost a ne- 
cessity for using one of these com- 
pilers. 

Summary 

The compilation/execution speed 
comparisons between the two com- 
pilers are not surprising. The MRI 
system compiles programs into M- 
code, which was designed with the 
goal of efficient Modula-2 compila- 
tion. Given this background, it makes 
sense that the MRI compiler is faster 
than the Logitech compiler. But the 
MRI programs pay for this advantage 
with their slower execution. The MRI 
software executes programs by inter- 
preting the compiled M-code, but the 
Logitech programs' 8088 machine 
code doesn't need interpretation. 

If you just want to learn Modula-2 
and write some programs for your 
own use, the MRI software is probably 
for you. You will appreciate the faster 
compile time with small programs, in 
which execution speed probably 
depends on user input anyway. And 
the MRI software is much cheaper. 

On the other hand, if you want to 
write software to distribute or sell, the 
Logitech system is probably right for 
you. This is especially true if Logitech 
comes out with a linker to produce 
COM or EXE format files. 

If you are one of the relatively few 
PC owners who operates the UCSD p- 
System, you should look into the 
Modula-2 compiler available from 
Volition Systems. However, better 
compilers are likely to become avail- 
able at any time, from these com- 
panies as well as others. Professor 
Wirth and lurg Gutknecht of ETH have 
created a fast one-pass Modula-2 
compiler for the Lilith; a compiler for 
the IBM PC derived from this one is 
likely to show up in the future. ■ 

REFERENCES 

1. Gilbreath, Jim, and Gary Gilbreath. 
"Eratosthenes Revisited: Once More 
through the Sieve." BYTE, January I983. 
page 283. 

2. Wirth, Niklaus. Programming in Modula-2. 
Springer-Verlag, 1982. 



314 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SoftCardu 
squeezes the most juice 

out ^ypujlfape. 





O 



Microsoft** Premium SoftCarcTIIe 
is the high-performance CP/Vf 
board that really juices the Apple" lie. 

Hard facts on SoftCard* 

It has a high speed (6MHz) Z-80 
that runs CP/M up to three times 
faster than lesser boards. Plus 64K 
memory and 80-column display that 
fits the He auxiliary slot and acts like 
Apple s own Extended 80-column 
Card. So it works with CP/M, Apple 
DOS and ProDOS programs, too. 

Microsoft BASIC is built-in, so it's 
compatible with more Apple CP/M 
software than any other board on 
the market: Thousands of the juiciest 
business programs including 
dBase II; WordStar* and sophis- 
ticated Microsoft languages like 

SoftCard is a trademark and Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International 

Business Machines Corporation, dBASE II is a registered trademark of AshtonTate. WordStar is a 

registered trademark of MicroPro. CP/M is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc. 



FORTRAN-80, COBOL and BASIC 
Compiler 

It also has a new low price. 

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The High Performance Software D/volv^ IS tne 

language spoken by nine out often 
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Get the Apple juicer from 
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(in Washington State call 206-828- 
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In Canada: (416) 625-1907. )BM PC j sa registered trademark of IBM. VIDEOLAB is a registered trademark of Data Translation, Inc. 

316 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 44 




SOFTWARE REVIEW 



MCI Mail 
and Western 
Unions 

EasyLink 



by Wayne Rash Jr. 



Wa^we Rash }r. is a member of the 

professional staff of American 

Management Systems Inc. {Federal 

Consulting Group, 5th Floor. 1925 

North Lynn St., Arlington, VA 

22209). He consults with the 

federal government in areas 

concerning microcomputers. 



E-Mail for the Masses 



Two giants of the telecommunica- 
tions industry have started elec- 
tronic mail services. MCI Telecom- 
munications Corporation's MCI Mail and 
Western Union Telegraph Company's Easy- 
Link offer the services to individual con- 
sumers and businesses. Both services are 
heavily advertised, and both promise to 
open the world of easy and inexpensive in- 
stant communications to nearly anyone. 
Only one fully delivers on this promise. 

MCI Mail 

MCI Mail is part of the same corporation 
that provides MCI telephone communica- 
tions. MCI has expanded its operations to 
include electronic mail, billing itself as the 
"nation's new postal system." You can ac- 
cess MCI Mail with a local phone call in 64 
cities around the country and with a toll- 
free number to its Washington, DC head- 
quarters. You can use these numbers with 
your computer to transmit letters and 
documents to other MCI Mail subscribers 
in the U.S. and Canada or to Tfelex addresses 
anywhere in the world. If your recipient 
does not have access to MCI Mail or Telex, 
you can have a paper copy of the commu- 
nication mailed or delivered. As of January 
I, 1985, MCI Mail service was available in 
41 countries. 

MCI Mail's hard-copy communications are 
prepared using a laser printer at 18 loca- 
tions in the U.S. Courier delivery is available 
within four hours in some locations, and 
overnight courier delivery is available in 
most major metropolitan areas. Delivery by 
mail usually takes two business days. 
Because they are prepared on a laser 
printer, the MCI letters look like they were 
done on a letter-quality printer and then 
photocopied. You can have your letterhead 
and signature placed on file with MCI so 
they can appear on your letters. Otherwise 
the MCI Mail letterhead will appear on the 
first page of your letter. 

You can log on to MCI Mail with either a 
300- or 1200-bps (bit per second) modem. 



After you enter your user name and pass- 
word, you will read some announcements 
and get a couple of news headlines before 
the main menu appears. Every function of 
MCI Mail is menu operated, and the service 
has extensive help files for every function. 
You can use the built-in text editor to 
prepare your document, or you can trans- 
mit a document you have already prepared. 
Once you finish, you can edit the document 
or reformat it before sending it. There is no 
limit to the length of the document you can 
send, but longer documents cost more. 

You can read incoming messages or refer 
to messages you sent out earlier. MCI Mail 
also offers you access to Dow Jones News/ 
Retrieval or lets you order discount mer- 
chandise from on-line advertisers. 

EasyLink 

Western Union apparently designed Easy- 
Link for experienced users who already 
understand how the system works. You can 
access EasyLink with either a 300- or 
1200-bps modem. You will find no descrip- 
tive prompts or menus to lead you through 
the system. You log on at the ID? prompt 
by giving a terminal description, your ID 
number, your user name, and your pass- 
word. You enter these on a single line, 
separated by spaces and a period. You will 
not see what you are typing if you are oper- 
ating in full duplex. 

Once you gain access to EasyLink, the 
cryptic PTS prompt greets you. You can find 
out what your options are by using the on- 
line help facility or by reading the package's 
User Guide or quick-reference guide. Essen- 
tially, your choices are: send one of several 
types of messages, read messages waiting 
for you, or use the help facility. An infor- 
mation database called FY I is also available 
to EasyLink subscribers, but not from within 
EasyLink. 

EasyLink gives you a wide variety of ways 
to send a communication to others. You can 
send a message directly to another sub- 

{continuea) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 317 



REVIEW: E-MAIL 



scriber's mailbox, just as you can with 
MCI Mail, and you can have a mes- 
sage mailed to a nonsubscriber using 
what Western Union calls a "computer 
letter," Computer letters are mailed 
from Western Union's facility in the 
Washington, DC area, which means 
that delivery can take a while for 
some sections of the country. Unlike 
MCI's laser-printed letters, the Easy- 
Link computer letter is printed on 
what appears to be a Teletype printer 
using only uppercase letters. 

Like MCI Mail, EasyLink lets you 
send messages to Telex addresses 
and gives you a Telex address for 
replies. Since you are using Western 
Union, you can use EasyLink to send 
telegrams, mailgrams, and cable- 
grams. Western Union also has an ar- 
rangement with the U.S. Postal Service 
that lets you send messages through 
the E-COM system, although the long- 
term existence of that service is ques- 
tionable. 

Using MCI Mail 

Working with MCI Mail, especially for 
the inexperienced, casual, or infre- 



Cimrt Up m ip EXIT): 4 
ht Ms eitep: 

f«P i SlMNft Of gtt(P Mil 
U Bll NtSS49*S »« k* M* 

PRIHI to display ittSSMS nonstop 

CSilE tt wife an NCI Utter 

WHJOKES for Do« Jones Ne*s/Retrievai 

ftCCQOHI to aijust tenunal display 

HELP ftp assistance 

Comb* (er MEW op EXIT): 4 



quent user, is a pleasant experience 
About the only information you have 
to remember is your password. As 
you enter the system, every possible 
command is listed for you (see photo 
1). The help files are extensive and de- 
tailed, and you can specify the com- 
mand or function for which you need 
help. Since the on-line time on MCI 
Mail is free, you don't feel the need 
to rush the process unless you're 
using the 1 5-cents-per-minute 800 
number. 

Creating a message is easy Follow- 
ing the directions on the main menu, 
you type the word CREATE and enter 
the text editor. The next prompt asks 
for the addressee. After you type in 
the name, MCI Mail checks to see 
whether it matches the name of a sub- 
scriber. If one or more names match, 
you are shown a list of names and 
asked to pick the proper one. If the 
person you want is on the list, you 
choose him; otherwise, you will be 
asked to enter his address so the 
message can be mailed. You can 
name any number of addressees 
since the TO: prompt will appear un- 



fti m enter; 



tt SCAN pap unpead Messages 
to SCAN messages you sent 
to !CAH Messages read kef we 
te SCAN wp HAH Message 
tt SCAR ILL jmp Messages 
(ip assistance 



CmmmJUpHWopIXIT): 




Photo I: Entry-level and Scan menus for MCI Mail. Your correspondence is organized 
like an office desk. The \n box holds incoming messages, the Out box holds copies of 
messages sent, the desk holds copies of messages received, and the draft folder contains 
a message written but not sent. 



til you enter a blank line. You will be 
prompted to enter the mailing ad- 
dress of the recipient and the subject 
of the message. Then MCI Mail 
prompts you to enter the text of the 
message. 

The basic rate for an MCI Mail 
message is $1 for an "MCI ounce" 
transmitted electronically. An ounce 
equals 7500 characters. Short mes- 
sages of 500 characters or less cost 
45 cents. The cost for the first ounce 
is $2 if the letter is mailed. In areas 
where courier service is available, you 
can have a letter hand-delivered over- 
night for $8 and within four hours for 
$30. In each case the cost for an ad- 
ditional ounce is $1, although for 
courier delivery the second ounce is 
free. If you are sending to a Telex ad- 
dress, the ounce is quite a bit less, 
about 400 characters, due to a limit 
set by Telex. International rates are 
higher than domestic rates, but still 
within reason. MCI gives you a Telex 
number so your correspondents can 
answer you by Telex. If you use the 
toll-free number, you are charged an 
extra 1 5 cents per minute. 

Once you complete your message, 
you can read it. If you want to make 
changes, an MCI editing mode has its 
own menus, prompts, and help files. 
You can also see what your document 
will look like when it's printed, com- 
plete with spaces reserved for the let- 
terhead and the page breaks. You can 
use the edit mode to reformat the let- 
ter. Once you are satisfied, you tell 
MCI to send your document by typ- 
ing SEND followed by any optional 
delivery methods. Once you send the 
message, a copy is placed in your Out 
box for a day or two. This makes it 
easy to refer to messages later. 

Checking for messages is also easy; 
MCI Mail tells you that your In box 
has a message. You might also be told 
that an unfinished draft is on your 
desk, in the event that you terminated 
an earlier session for some reason 
before sending a message. This is one 
of the nice features of MCI Mail. Once 
you start creating a message, it stays 
in the MCI system. If your computer 
or phone goes dead or your modem 
explodes, the draft of your message 



318 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



REVIEW: E-MAIL 



will be waiting when you return. 

As I mentioned earlier, you can do 
a lot besides send and receive mes- 
sages. MCI Mail has an advertising 
section where you can order anything 
from gifts and travel services to fan- 
fold paper and floppy disks. You also 
have access to Dow Jones News/ 
Retrieval at regular Dow Jones rates. 
Off-peak rates are 20 cents a minute 
for 300-bps connections or 40 cents 
for 1200-bps service. Incidentally, 
Dow Jones customers also have ac- 
cess to MCI Mail as part of their sub- 
scription. 

Using EasyLink 

My first impression of EasyLink is that 
it isn't very easy. As I've already dis- 
cussed, logging on to the system is 
complicated and tedious. 

Logging on wouldn't be such a 
problem if you were given the neces- 
sary information to enter. For exam- 
ple, the terminal ID is necessary if you 
are using a personal computer and a 
modem, since EasyLink's default 
mode does not seem to work with 
that type of equipment. The terminal 
codes are listed in Appendix E in the 
User Guide, but the differences be- 
tween the 24 terminal codes aren't ex- 
plained. Many users will have little 
luck deciphering them. The first time 
1 used EasyLink it took me four tries 
to log on. 

Once you get past the log-on se- 
quence, you are faced with the PTS 
prompt (see photo 2). At this point 
you have to enter a slash followed by 
a command. Since EasyLink has no 
menu, you will have to look up all the 
commands in the documentation or 
read the on-line help file. If you don't 
have a local-access phone number, 
looking at the help file is going to cost 
you 1 5 cents per minute. Fortunately, 
Western Union has over 400 local- 
access phone numbers in the U.S. 

Since the charges for EasyLink are 
based on the actual connect time you 
will save yourself money if you 
prepare your messages ahead of time 
and transmit them to EasyLink. You 
can also save money if you minimize 
use of the on-line help by using the 
manual instead. 



You are also charged by the minute 
for the time it takes you to send 
messages. The normal charge for a 
1200-bps connection is 45 cents per 
minute If you like to compose on line 
or if your modem program can't 
transmit easily, this can run into 
money. You can save 40 percent by 
calling during off-peak hours (12:01 
a.m. to 7 a.m. local time). 

EasyLink has a number of charges 
besides the connect time. For exam- 
ple, a computer letter costs you $1.25 
for the first page and 40 cents for 
each additional page. A three-page 
letter that costs you $2 to send on 
MCI Mail will cost you $3.30 on 
EasyLink, assuming the total connect 
time was two minutes, the time re- 
quired to send the document was one 
minute, and you called using the 
EasyLink toll-free number. Using a 
local-access number would reduce 
the cost by 45 cents. 

Sending messages to other Easy- 
Link subscribers is less expensive. The 
basic charge is only 45 cents per 
minute for 1200-bps service, plus 15 
cents per address. A short message 
could go out for less than the 



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3 WRECKS! HffORKMIOti 



78 HELFKRftS 

88 m SEWCE IffiSSftGE 

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FU8SE ENTER HHSSER FOR SERVICE BESIRB 



equivalent message on MCI Mail, but 
a longer one could cost somewhat 
more. If you have to use the WATS line 
to call EasyLink, your costs are almost 
certain to be higher. 

If you are a low-volume user of elec- 
tronic mail, EasyLink will be a sub- 
stantially more expensive service. 
Even though it has no sign-up fee, 
EasyLink has a $2 5-per-month mini- 
mum charge. Depending on the type 
of electronic mail you use, you might 
have to send one piece of mail per 
day just to break even. 

Documentation 

EasyLink definitely has the more com- 
plete and attractive documentation. 
When you sign up for EasyLink, 
Western Union sends you a bookshelf- 
size binder. Sections of the book are 
marked by tab dividers, and the pages 
are attractively typeset and easy to 
read. This is an advantage because 
you're probably going to spend lots 
of time reading this manual. 

A disadvantage is that the manual 
is not well organized. The process of 
calling EasyLink, logging on, creating 

{continued) 



Photo 2: Entry-level prompt and help menu for EasyLink. You enter commands by 
typing a slash and a command word, such as /SCAN to list all messages, /READ to 
read a message, or /HELP for the help files. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 319 



REVIEW: E-MAIL 



AT A GLANCE 



Name 

Easy Link 

Service Supplier 

Western Union Telegraph Company 
One Lake St. 

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 
(800) 336-3797 ext. 908 

Requirements 

Personal computer, modem, and 
telecommunications software, or dedicated 
communications terminal 

Special Features 

Messages can also be sent via Telex, 
telegrams, cablegrams, mailgrams, and 
through the U.S. Postal Service E-COM 
system 

Optional Software 

EasyLink Instant Mail Manager program 
($95) requires IBM PC or compatible 
computer with one disk drive, 256K bytes 
of RAM, and asynchronous communica- 
tions modem 

Price 

Minimum monthly charge: $25 
EasyLink mailbox message (maximum 

200,000 characters): 

30 cents/minute (300 bps) 

45 cents/minute (1200 bps) 
EasyLink to Telex (maximum 200,000 

characters): 

43 cents/minute (300 and 1200 bps) 
Mailgram message overnight letter 

(maximum 15,000 characters): 

First page (2700 characters) $3 

Each additional page (3500 characters) 

75 cents 
Computer letter service (maximum 

25,000 characters): 

First page (2700 characters) $1.25 

Each additional page (3500 characters) 

35 cents 



Name 

MCI Mail 

Service Supplier 

MCI Telecommunications Corporation 
1900 M St. NW 
Washington, DC 20036 
(800) 424-6677 

Requirements 

Personal computer, modem, and 
telecommunications software, or dedicated 
communications terminal 

Special Features 

Messages can also be sent via Telex, via 
mail delivery, or via overnight or four-hour 
hand delivery 

Optional Software 

MCI Mail Access program ($49.95) requires 
IBM PC or compatible computer with one 
disk drive, 256K bytes of RAM, and 
asynchronous communications modem 



Price 




Instant letter 




500 characters or less 


$0.45 


7500 characters 


$1 


MCI letter (mail delivery) 


$2 


Overnight letter 


$8 


Four-hour letter 


$30 


Each additional 7500 characters 


$1 


Annual mailbox fee 


$18 



and sending a message and getting 
off again requires a great deal of flip- 
ping through the manual. All the time 
you're looking up what to do next the 
connect charges are mounting if 
you're calling on the WATS line or are 
in the midst of creating a message. 
[Editor's note: EasyLink has since issued a 
new User Manual Release 1.3 that ap- 
pears to be rewritten and better organized.] 

The MCI Mail manuals are shorter, 
less fancy, and paper-bound. They in- 
clude the Welcome Kit and Service Guide, 
which gives an overview of the ser- 
vice, contains some basic information 
on performing routine functions, and 
explains the services available; and 
the Basic User's Guide, which gives 
detailed information on the use of 
MCI Mail. The manuals skip some of 
the functions of MCI Mail (for exam- 
ple, sending a Telex message). 

The manuals are much less impor- 
tant for the routine use of MCI Mail, 
however, since the menus lead you 
through most functions quite well. 
The help files are also excellent and 
do not have a connect charge. 

Customer Support 

I had occasion to call customer sup- 
port at MCI Mail twice, and at Western 
Union three times. The personnel at 
MCI Mail were helpful and familiar 
with the service. I received accurate, 
complete answers to both questions. 
Unfortunately, MCI Mail customer 
support is not open on weekends. 

Western Union's customer service is 
nearly a total contrast. The customer- 
service lines are open on weekends, 
but they might as well be closed. 
Regardless of the time I called, the 
support representatives showed little 
familiarity with EasyLink. Once 1 was 
told that no one knew anything about 
it, but that the representatives were 
trying to learn. In another case, the 
representative had never heard of a 
computer letter and could offer no in- 
formation on how to send one or on 
how long it would take to deliver. 



Conclusions 

Both EasyLink and MCI Mail offer 
communications packages to make 

{continued) 



320 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



'Despite the recent press notices, 
multiuser microcomputers aren't 

anything new!" 



This is the first In a series of 
discussions with Rod Coleman, 
President of Stride Micro 
(formerly Sage Computer) on 
the 68000 multiuser market 
and Its current environment 

Q: Why do you say that? 
AC' 'The technology to build a 
high performance multiuser sys- 
tem has been around for five 
years. And while some of the 
leaders in this industry have been 
pretending that micro multiuser 
didn't exist, we've been shipping 
complete systems for nearly three 
years. The benefits of multiuser 
are undeniable; it is more cost ef- 
fective, and offers greater flexibil- 
ity and utility. But until just re- 
cently, the marketing pressure to 
be compatible instead of being 
better, has blinded the industry." 

Q: What do you mean? 
AC: "Well, for example, the 
Motorola 68000 processor intro- 
duced 16/32 -bit technology to the 
personal computer world a long 
time ago. It was fully capable of 




"A surprising feature Is 
compatibility. Everybody 
talks about It, but nobody 

does anything about it." 



meeting high performance and 
multiuser design requirements in 
1980. Instead of this trend taking 
off, most energy was spent pro- 
moting 8088/8086 products that 

Inquiry 299 



were clearly inferior from a tech- 
nical point of view. This phenom- 
enon leads me to believe that they 
will soon rewrite the old proverb: 
'Build a better mousetrap and the 
world will beat a path to your 
door,' but only if they can find the 
way through the marketing fog." 
0: Are things changing now? 
RC: "Yes and no. With the busi- 
ness world starting to take more 
and more interest in microcompu- 
ter solutions, the advantages of a 
solid multiuser system couldn't be 
kept hidden forever; companies 
like ours and a few others were 
beginning to make a dent. Instead 
of taking a fresh approach, some 
of the newest multiuser offerings 
will probably only give the tech- 
nology an undeserved black eye! 
Multiuser is far more than the 
ability to plug in more terminals. 
It involves things like machine 
compatibility, fast processors, 
adequate memory, large storage 
capacities, backup features, net- 
working, and operating system 
flexibility." 

Q: Is this what makes the new 
Stride 400 Series different? 
RC: "Exactly. That sounds self- 
serving, but it's true. Today a 
number of companies are intro- 
ducing their first multiuser sys- 
tem. We've been building and 
shipping multiuser machines for 
almost three years. We know the 
pitfalls, we've fallen into some of 
them. But we have learned from 
our mistakes." 
0: Give me some examples. 
RC: A hard disk is almost manda- 
tory for any large multiuser in- 
stallation. Yet, backing up a hard 
disk can be a nightmare if you 
only have floppies to work with. 
That's why we've added a tape 
backup option to all the larger 
Stride 400 Series machines. It's 
irresponsible for a manufacturer 
to market a multiuser system 
without such backup. Another 
good lesson was bus design. We 
started with one of our own de- 
signs, but learned that it's impor- 
tant not only to find a bus that is 
powerful, but also one that has 
good support and a strong future 
to serve tomorrow's needs. We 




The marketing pressure 

to be compatible 

Instead of being better, 

has blinded the Industry." 



think the VMEbus is the only de- 
sign that meets both criteria and 
thus have made it a standard fea- 
ture of every Stride 400 Series 
machine." 

Q: What are some of the other 
unique features of the 400 Series? 
RC: ' 'A surprising feature is com- 
patibility. Everybody talks about 
it, but nobody does anything 
about it. Our systems are com- 
pletely compatible with each other^ 
from the 420 model starting at " 
$2900, through the 440, on to the 
powerful 460 which tops out near 
$60,000. Each system can talk to 
the others via the standard built- in 
local area network. Go ahead and 
compare this with others in the in- 
dustry. You'll find their little ma- 
chines don't talk to their big ones, 
or that the networking and multi- 
user are incompatible, or that they 
have different processors or 
operating systems, and so on." 
0: When you were still known as 
Sage Computer, you had a reputa- 
tion for performance, is that still 
the case with the new Stride 400 
Series? 

RC: "Certainly, that's our calling 
card; 'Performance By Design.' 
Our new systems are actually fas- 
ter; our standard processor is a 10 
MHz 68000 running with no wait 



states. That gives us a 25% in- 
crease over the Sage models. 
And, we have a 12 MHz pro- 
cessor as an option. Let me add 
that speed isn't the only way to 
judge performance. I think it is 
also measured in our flexibility. 
We support a dozen different 
operating systems, not just one. 
And our systems service a wide 
variety of applications from the 
garage software developer to the 
corporate consumer running high 
volume business applications." 
Q: Isn't that the same thing all 
manufacturers say in their ads? 
RC: "Sure it is. But to use another 
over used-term, "shop around'. 
We like to think of our systems as 
'full service 68000 supermicro- 
computers,' Take a look at every- 
one else's literature and then 
compare. When you examine 
cost, performance, flexibility, and 
utility, we don't think there's any- 
one else in the 
race. Maybe 
that's why we've 
shipped and 
installed more 
multiuser 68000 
systems than 
anyone else." 




Forme rl> Sage Computer 

For more information on Stride or 
the location of the nearest Stride 
Dealer call or write us today. 
We'll also send you a free copy of 
our 32 page product catalog. 

Corporate Offices; 
4905 Energy Way 
Reno, NV 89502 

(702)322-6868 

Regional Offices; 

Boston: (617) 229-6868 
Dallas: (214) 392-7070 

FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 321 



GILTRONIX SWITCHES ARE 
THE BEST CHOICE. 



and here are 10 good reasons why: 



IBM PC 



APPLE 




2. Prompt Deliveries 

3. Nationally Adver 
tised Products 

4. Broad Product 
Line 

5. Over 30,000 Units 
Sold to Date 

6. Sales and 
Technical 
Support 






7 FCC Approved 
Units 

8 Manual and 

9. Highest Qualit- 
PC Board Swih 
Technology 

0. Buy Direct Froi 
Giltronix, or Fri 



Manual Units— 2 to 6 Ports 
Automatic Units— 3 to 15 Ports 



C^Giltronix 

(AJ 



ORDER HOT-LINE: 1 800 531 1300 (Outside of Calif< 



Inquiry 122 



""^ Heath 
Users 






Double Your 
5 1 //' disk storage 
capacity without adding a drive. 

Get twice as much from your H88 or 
H89 microcomputer. Our FDC-880H 
floppy disk controller, in conjunction 
with your 5%" drives, for example, 
expands memory capacity from 256 
bytes to 512 bytes per sector. 

And it handles single and double- 
sided, single and double-density, 8" and 
&% n drives — simultaneously. 



ot 



C.D.R. Systems Inc. 

Controlled Data Recording Systems Inc. 
7210 Oairmont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92111 

(619) 560-1272 



Inquiry 45 



VT100 
$150.* 

'plus your IBM PC or compatible 

Use your IBM PC as a DEC VT100 with 

ZSTEMpc-VT100 smart terminal emulator 

132 columns by windowing — 

no additional hardware 

Double High/Double Wide Characters 

Complete VT100 line graphics 

Smooth scrolling 

Full keyboard soft keys / MACROS 

Bidirectional file transfers — 

including XMODEM 

Speeds to 38.4KB. High throughput. 

ZSTEM Communications Division 

KEA SYSTEMS LTD. 

#412 - 2150 W. Broadway 

Vancouver, B.C. 

CANADA V6K 4L9 

(604) 732-7411 



SAVE 
TODAY 
WITH OUR 
LOW 
PRICES 
FOB YOUR 
IBM PC 
AND 
COMPATI- 
BLES 



INTERNAL SUBSYSTEMS: DHlwt CONTROLLER CABLES 
FULL HEIGHT 

I0MB..SG75 I5MB 1750 ?0MB.S12?5 32MB S15Z5 
HALF HEIGHT 10MB 1775 




WINCHESTER DRIVES [DRIVE ONLY) 


FULL HEIGHT 




10MB FORMATTED S4Z5 15MB FORMATTED 1500 


ZOMB FORMATTED |umt u wfttt IBM AT usu| S8S5 


32MB FORMATTED 


$1096 


HALF HEIGHT 


10MB $450 


EXTERNAL SUBSYSTEMS 




tOMB 15MB 


ZOMB 3ZMB 


APPLE 11150 I1Z50 


11575 - 


IBM SI050 5)150 


SI 525 S1BZ5 


MISCELLANEOUS 




130 WATT POWER SUPPLY FOR IBM PC J 165 n 


4164150 m 9 CHIP SET (64 K| 


$35 Ml 


41256.150 nt Z56K CERAMIC 


SZ5 


8087 3 


S170 



10 KT GOLD FLOPPY DISK SHAPED JEWELRY WITH 
||M||Q||A| GENUINE SAPPHIRE. DIAMOND AND RUBY 
UIW8UfH> clJFF jjMKS |SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND) SZ10 

G I FTS ! ! ! ! TIE PIN ' S * PPHIRE Am> oiamondj 



LADIES PIN (RUBY AND 



CALL MET CHEM BULLETIN BOARD (300/1Z00 BAUD|/Z03-ZBI 7287 
5 P.M.-8 AM WEEKDAYS — ANY TIME ON WEEKENDS 



| AWM.hnii B K! 



=± Mel-Chem Inten 
S] 2911 Diawell Av 
■^i Phone: (203)24 



Inquiry 204 



3M 

diskettes 
5 1 /4" 

Specify soft, 
10 or 16 sector 




Minimum Order 20 



Single sided 
double density 



1.49e 



1.99 



Double sided 
double density 

Certified Check * Money Order - Personal Check. Allow up 
to 2 weeks for personal checks to clear. Add $3.00 per 100 
or part to each order for U.P.S. shipping charges. 
NJ Residents add 6% sales tax. 

178 Route 206 South, P.O. Box 993 

Department C 

Somerville, N.J. 08876 • (201) 874-5050 



Inquiry 83 



inaiiini 



Advises, 

Forecasts, 

Simulates, 

Tutors, 

Decides, 

Evaluates, 

Solves, 

Reports 



Lets you Design, 
create and run 
problem solving 
expert systems on 
the IBM-PC or 
DEC Rainbow. No 
programming, uses 
English language 
knowledge base. 

$95. 




4980 S-Al A, Melbourne Bch. FL 32951 
305/729-9046 

CREDIT CARD ORDERS ACCEPTED 



Inquiry 348 



Inquiry 179 



REVIEW: E-MAIL 



EasyLink is slow 
in sending printed 
material and can be 
"user-hostile'.' 



using their services easier. I have not 
had the opportunity to test them, but 
the information I have about them in- 
dicates that they are functionally 
equivalent. Both systems run on the 
IBM PC or close compatibles, and 
both make logging on and sending 
messages almost automatic. I would 
consider such a package essential for 
the use of EasyLink. 

1 found the difference between 
these two services to be substantial. 
MCI Mail was easy to use and fairly 
inexpensive for the low-volume user, 
and it presented a much more attrac- 
tive product when messages were 
delivered on paper. Overnight or four- 
hour delivery of printed material can 
be critically important in some 
circumstances. 

On the other hand, EasyLink was 
anything but easy. For the low-volume 
user it can be very expensive, and a 
printed computer letter is not par- 
ticularly attractive. In addition, Easy- 
Link is slow in sending printed 
material and can be 'user-hostile" in 
the process. TWice I tried to send 
myself a computer letter in order to 
compare delivery time and ap- 
pearance. The first try was canceled 
two days after I sent it because a line 
was too long. The second try took 
eight days to arrive. I should add that 
Western Union has plans to imple- 
ment tv/o-hour and overnight courier 
delivery in 1985. 

EasyLink might be easy if you have 
the communications software sold by 
Western Union, and it might be rela- 
tively inexpensive if you send large 
volumes of electronic mail. This is 
especially true if you need the ability 
to send telegrams or use the Postal 
Service's E-COM system. Otherwise, 
MCI Mail appears to be the electronic 
mail service of choice. ■ 



A COMPUTER 

PROGRAM 

DELIVERED VIA 

SATELLITE! 




m 




llff MMr' 




\HllltlUUllili -nrt 



UJ r M + mm i i jjjjjjj i * im 




The Computer 
Chronicles, a half- 
hour weekly television 
series brings you an 
in-depth look at the 
latest developments 
in the computer 
world. 

Correspondent Ste- 
wart Cheifet and 
Gary Kildall, creator 
of CP/M provide 
interviews with indus- 
try leaders plus news 
and information from 
Silicon Valley and 
around the world. 

The Computer 
Chronicles, every 
week on a 
public television 
station near 
you. 

(Check local listings for 
time and channel.) 



Produced by KCSM, San Mateo, CA and WITF, Harmburg. PA with funding from McGraw-Hill's 



El tWK POPULAR 

EVIEand COMPUTING magazines. 



M 




FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 323 



THSIS 



«• 



PUTER 
PROTECTION. 




To safeguard your computer 
against mysterious errors and 
costly servicing, not just any 
surge and noise suppressor 
will do. Serious computer 
problems demand serious 
computer protection. . . 
DATAGARD* by SL WABER. 

For more information about 
DATAGARD and our complete 
line of Computer Accessories, 
call or write today. 



SL 



WABER 



Inquiry 281 



A Division of SL Industries, Inc. 

Computer Accessories Group 
300 Harvard Avenue 
Westville. NJ 08093 
Toll-free (800) 257-8384 
In NJ (609) 456-5400 



Nobody does it better. Nobody can. 




HARDWARE REVIEW 



adaptable 
dot-matrix 



printer 



by Mark J. Welch 



Mannesmann 
Tally MT 160 



Mark Welch is a BYTE staff writer. 

He can be contacted at POB 372. 

Hancock. NH 03449. 



Mannesmann Tally's MT 160 is a 
small high-speed, dot-matrix 
printer. You can configure the 
printer using front-panel buttons and a 
printer-generated menu. The printer fea- 
tures high-speed, draft-quality printing; a 
slower correspondence-quality mode; and 
a wide range of character sets and printing 
formats. 

The MT 160 is compact— considerably 
more compact than, for example, Epson's 
MX-80— but surprisingly heavy at 18 
pounds. It includes both serial and parallel 
interfaces, so it can be connected to virtual- 
ly any computer. 

Mannesmann T&lly advertises the MT 160 
as printing at 160 characters per second 
(cps) in draft-quality mode, or 40 cps in 
correspondence-quality mode. In actual use, 
the MT 160 is faster in draft mode than the 
Epson FX-80, also advertised as a 160-cps 
printer. In its higher-quality correspondence 
mode, however, the MT 160 slows down 
severely, lagging behind the FX-80. 

A wide variety of print modes are sup- 
ported by the MT 160, including under- 
lining, emphasized (bold), superscript, and 
subscript (see figure 1). In draft-quality 
mode it can print 5, 6, 8.3, 10, 12, 16.7, and 
20 characters per inch (cpi). In correspond- 
ence-quality mode, it can print 10 or 12.5 
cpi or proportional spacing. 

In draft mode, the MT 160 prints charac- 
ters in a 7- by 9-dot matrix. Uppercase char- 
acters use the top 7 by 7 matrix, with lower- 
case descenders using the bottom of the 
matrix. In correspondence mode characters 
look almost like typewriter quality. A line 
is printed in two passes. The paper is ad- 
vanced a fraction of a line between passes, 
so characters are printed in a 7 by 18 
matrix. In emphasized mode, characters are 
again printed twice; the second impression 
is slightly offset to the side. When the cor- 
respondence and emphasized modes are 
combined, it's almost impossible to 
distinguish any dots. 

The printer can be reconfigured to recog- 



nize control codes used for other printers. 
This is especially helpful since very little 
software supports the MT 160's standard 
control codes. WordStar text and Lotus 
1-2-3 graphs were printed accurately by the 
MT 160 using this mode. Mannesmann Tally 
also offers a configuration program for 
Lotus 1-2-3. 

The MT 160 doesn't support italic char- 
acters even when Epson control codes are 
used. The lack of italics is a serious handi- 
cap, although emphasized characters or 
underlining could be used instead. 

Programmable Features 

One of the most convenient features of the 
MT 160 is that configuration details can be 
selected using the front-panel buttons and 
printed menus, so no DIP (dual-inline pack- 
age) switches or jumpers are involved in 
configuring the printer for your computer 
(see listing 1). The current configuration is 
stored when the printer is turned off. 

Many of the print features available 
through software control can be set as 
default parameters (see listing 2). Any of the 
seven character sets available can be 
chosen. If the printer is usually used for 
printing documents in another language, a 
European or other character set can be 
selected as the default. Likewise, form- 
length, print-format, and communications 
parameters can be reset. 

To reconfigure the printer for my serial in- 
terface, for example, I simply pressed the 
Yes and No buttons to activate the menu, 
answered Yes to the CHANGE COMM 
CONFIG? prompt, and again to SERIAL 
prompt. While responding to prompts, I had 
to press No quite a few times, but this is 
far simpler than removing the cover to 
move jumpers and reset DIP switches. 

There are six control buttons on the front 
panel of the MT 160. The on-line form-feed, 
line-feed, and test buttons do what you'd 
expect. TWo additional buttons labeled Yes 
and No allow you to answer the questions 

(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 325 



REVIEW: MT 160 



You 11 have to go 
out of your way to 
build a special cable 
to hook the MT 160 
up to your system. 



in the reconfiguration mode and also 
combine with other buttons for spe- 
cial functions. For example, pressing 
the Yes and the line-feed buttons 
causes the printer to toggle from cor- 
respondence to draft mode. 

I dislike loud, nonstop fault alarms, 
so I appreciate that the MT 160 makes 
no noise when a fault occurs. A red 
light indicates a problem. While this 
is better than the endless whine some 
printers produce when the paper runs 
out. I wish it would give a little beep 
so I'd know something was wrong 
right away. 

The MT 160 is not a standard serial 
printer, its RS-232C connector uses 
pins 1 1 and 19 to send a busy signal. 



something most computers don't ex- 
pect. As a result, you'll almost certain- 
ly have to buy or build a special cable 
to connect the MT 160 to your com- 
puter. For my older CP/M system, I 
switched pins 19 and 20. For the IBM 
Personal Computer (PC), Mannes- 
mann Tally's service department says 
pin 5 must be swapped with either pin 
11 or 19. Since the MT 160 is con- 
figured as data-terminal equipment 
(DTE), IBM PC users will also have to 
swap the connections to pins 2 and 
3 (printer cables are readily available 
that way). The use of pins 11 and 19 
was a surprise to me. You'll have to 
go out of your way to hook up the MT 
160 to your system by either paying 
a premium to have a cable built your 
way or spending the extra time 
building your own. 

Another problem I often find with 
printers is that the paper feeding out 
can feed right back into the printer. 
You'd almost have to work at it to get 
that to happen with the MT 160. 

Power and interface cables often 
seem to need the same path as the 
paper. The MT 1 60s power cable has 
a right-angle connector at the printer 
end and feeds though a slot in the 



back of the left side of the printer, so 
there's no interference with the paper 
feed. 

The parallel and serial connectors, 
however, feed straight out through the 
path the paper needs when it feeds 
from below. This problem was ag- 
gravated when, rather than rewire the 
printer cable, I used an adapter that 
also extended the printer's serial port. 
The right side of the paper dragged 
against this adapter and tore several 
times; there seems to be no solution 
except to wire a new cable especially 
for the MT 160. The parallel port is 
closer to the center of the back of the 
printer, so the cable would have to be 
routed underneath the printer. 

There's never been a standard 
printer ribbon and Mannesmann Tally 
hasn't tried to change that. When my 
first ribbon faded, I tried to buy a 
replacement at several local computer 
stores. No one at any of the stores 
had seen this kind of ribbon before 
and delivery estimates ranged from 
two days to two weeks. The ribbons 
cost about $13 each— well above an 
average price for other types. If you 
buy an MT 160, you should probably 

{continued) 



T h i s i s t h & Ma n n @ •;.;• m a n n Tally (1 T - ■ i 6 p r i n t e r • ■ 



s regular draft-- qua" 



*u output 



Th i ■ 

This is the double-pass 'correspondence-quality' mode. 

This is emphasized mode. 

This is emphasized correspondence-quality mode. 

Th is is 10 c.p i pr i rrt ing- 
This is 12 cp i pr int ing. 
This is 14.7 cp i pr int ing, 
This is 20 cpi printing. 

T~H I -m i h::i cl^oub-I. e w i d*trH S c: p i pr i r>i::. 

Th is i m double - i*i i di t H 6 c pi prin t- i n g - 

This is d o u b 1 e - w i d t h 8.3 cpi printing. 

This is double-width 10 cpi printing. 

This is 10 cpi correspondence-quality. 

This is 12.5 cpi correspondence-quality. 

This is proportional spaced correspondence-quality. 

T h is is u n d e r 1 i n e d t ■>?. x i . 



Figure 1: Print samples from the Mannesmann Tally MT 160 printer. 



326 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



AT A GLANCE 



Name 

MT 160 

Manufacturer 

Mannesmann Tally 
8301 South 180th St. 
Kent, WA 98032 
(206) 251-5500 

Type 

High-speed, 80-column dot- 
matrix printer 

Size 

14V4 by 9% by 6 1 /4 inches 

Weight 

18 pounds 

Equipment Needed 

Computer with parallel or 
serial interface, cable 

Features 

Six front-panel buttons; 
reprogrammable configura- 
tion; high-speed draft quality 
or slower correspondence 
quality; international character 
sets; graphics 

Documentation 

Operator's manual, 64 pages 

Price 

$798 




PRINT SPEED (CHARACTERS/SEC) 



LIST PRICE {$100) 




=F 


m 


m 














W^MZMfi/, 









15 30 45 

■ MT 160 



60 75 2 4 6 

liili} GEMINI 10-X k%^| EPSON FX-80 



8 10 



T h is i s t h e ftann e s m a n n T a 1. 1 y fi T -- 160 p r i n t e 
This is the Epson FX-80, draft mode- This 



n i s i 



:he Star Gemini— 10X This 



The output from the Mannesmann Tally MT 160 determined by dividing 3000 characters (50 
dot-matrix printer in draft mode is compared lines of 60 As each) by the time required to pro- 
with the Epson FX-80 and the Star Micronics duce the output. (See 'The Art of Benchmark- 
Gemini 10-X, both in draft mode. The pitch for ing Printers" by Sergio Mello-Grand, February 
all printers is 10 cpi. The print speeds were 1984 BYTE, page 193.) Prices shown are list. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 327 



REVIEW: MT 160 



Listing 1: An example of the interactive way of changing the configuration of 


the MT 160 printer. The printer prints 


out a short question to which you might 


respond by pressing either a Yes or No button on the printer's control panel. 


RESTORE DEFAULTS ? 


NO 


CHANGE FORM LENGTH ? 


NO 


CHANGE PRINT FORMAT ? 


YES 


CHANGE LPI ? 


NO 


CHANGE CPI ? 


YES 


10 ? 


NO 


12 ? 


NO 


16 ? 


NO 


20 ? 


NO 


CORR.QUAL 10? 


NO 


CORR.QUAL. 12 ? 


YES 


CR IMPLIES LF ? 


NO 


LF AT FULL LINE ? 


YES 


POPC ? 


NO 


CHANGE CHAR SET? 


YES 


USA ? 


NO 


UK ? 


NO 


NOR/DAN ? 


NO 


SWE/FIN ? 


NO 


GER? 


NO 


FREN ? 


NO 


SPAN ? 


YES 


SLASH ZERO ? 


NO 


CHANGE AUX CODE SET ? 


YES 


NONE ? 


NO 


E CODES ? 


NO 


D CODES ? 


YES 


CHANGE COMM CONFIG ? 


YES 


CHANGE BUFFER SIZE ? 


NO 


PARALLEL ? 


NO 


SERIAL ? 


YES 


CHANGE BAUD ? 


YES 


9600? 


NO 


4800 ? 


NO 


2400? 


YES 


CHANGE NO. DATA BITS ? 


NO 


CHANGE NO. STOP BITS ? 


NO 


CHANGE PARITY ? 


NO 


CHANGE BUSY ? 


NO 


CHANGE COMM PROTOCOL ? 


NO 


END OF MENU 





buy spare ribbons and reorder when 
you install the last one 

Documentation 

I've never seen a printer manual that 
I liked. 1 found myself flipping through 
the MT 160 manual hunting for sim- 
ple details I wish were included in a 
one-page appendix. To its credit, the 
manual does include a careful de- 
scription of most (not all) of the con- 
figuration menu, as well as brief ex- 



planations for each print command 
with examples in BASIC. 

However, the explanations were too 
short, while the four-page control- 
code appendix was too long to be 
useful as a quick-reference guide. 
Several control-code commands 
weren't explained enough and left me 
wondering exactly what they did. 

I'm not sure a novice would under- 
stand the MT 160 manual, but anyone 
who has used another printer should 



Listing 2: The current status of the 


printer can be prin 


ted out by pressing 


the No button. 




FORM LENGTH 


11 INCH 


LPI 


6 


CPi 


CORR. QUAL. 


CR IMPLIES LF 


NO 


LF AT FULL LINE 


YES 


POPC 


NO 


LF IMPLIES CR 


NO 


CHAR SET 


SPAN 


SLASH ZERO 


NO 


AUX CODE SET 


D CODES 


BUFFER SIZE 


MAX 


INTERFACE TYPE 


SERIAL 


BAUD 


2400 


NO. DATA BITS 


8 


NO. STOP BITS 


1 


PARITY 


NONE 


BUSY 


LOW 


PROTOCOL 


NONE 



be able to figure it out fairly quickly. 
There is enough information in both 
manuals for a programmer to use 
most of the printer's features, though 
some experimenting may be neces- 
sary. 

Mannesmann T&lly doesn't have a 
toll-free number, but I called the com- 
pany several times while configuring 
the printer and looking for a new rib- 
bon. Each time I was put through to 
the service department quickly and 
the person I spoke with answered my 
questions competently. 

Conclusions 

The Mannesmann felly MT 160 is a 
fast, high-quality, dot-matrix printer, 
but its price led me to expect more. 
Particularly irritating was the lack of 
italic characters, the unusual serial 
cable configuration, and the nonstan- 
dard printer ribbon. Even though the 
printer is well designed, small and 
quiet, I had problems using an 
adapter with the serial port. 

This machine is probably not as 
suited for the home user as some 
other printers, notably the Epson 
FX-80. However, its speed, print quali- 
ty, and diverse print modes might 
make it appropriate for office use. ■ 



328 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




WHY IS OUR WORKSTATION 
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM 
THE COMPLETE SOLUTION? 



Keithley DAS' Series 500 workstation data acquisition sys- 
tem is the complete solution to your control and measure- 
ment needs, present and future. Even a basic configuration 
provides enough power and capacity for most lab and test 
bench applications. As your needs become greater, you can 
set it up to perform more complex or varied operations later 
on. The key is: you configure it for your needs, whenever 
you need to. 





A A CHOICE OF PCs. 
First of all, the Series 500 sup- 
,• ports the PCs most commonly 
used in lab and R&D work: the IBM PC, 
PC-XT and Portable PC; the Apple 11 + 
and lie; and the Compaq Portable. We 
even support the 8087 coprocessor. 



software environment in 
charge of both interfaces. 
For special needs, there's 
our ChemSOO analytical 
chemistry software pack- 
age for chromatography, 
spectroscopy, thermal 
analysis and colorim- 
etry. And the Series 
500 is also supported 



by the Macmillan 
ASYST™ and Lab Note- 
book™ software packages. 



transducers: thermocouples, strain 

fauges and RTDs; pulse counting; 
-20 mA current loop input and output; 
direct switching and sensing of AC 
and DC power lines; and programma- 
ble excitation for transducers. All with 
full software support. 



A 




A 



A CHOICE OF 
• SOFTWARE. 



A 



Our SoftSOO package was written to 
give beginners the accessibility and 
ease of use they need to get results, yet 
it also offers more experienced users 
the depth and extra facilities necessary 
for more complex applications. Facili- 
ties like high-speed sampling, data 
storage, graphics, statistical analyses 
and memory-mapped I/O for high- 
speed data transfer. Our unique inter- 
rupt- driven architecture allows data 
acquisition in the background and 
simultaneous real-time analysis, control 
and display in the foreground. What's 
more, with our new PlusSOO interface, 
you can also connect IEEE-488 instru- 
ments to your PC and put the same 



A CHOICE OF 
• FUNCTIONS. 

With the Series 500, you can 
choose from a larger library 
of plug-in function cards 
than any other 
company 
offers. 





a: 



Choose from 18 analog and digital I/O 
modules; isolated and non-isolated 
analog input; direct connection of 



Inquiry 168 



ALL THIS, BACKED 
• BY KEITHLEY 
QUALITY. 

Behind the Series 500 is Keithley's 
40-year reputation for engineering 
excellence and low-level mea- 
surement expertise. We 
designed it to provide the 
least noise, the highest 
accuracy and the great- 
est thermal stability of 
any PC-based data' 
acquisition system. 

BACKED BY 
• KEITHLEY 
SUPPORT, TOO. 

We haven't provided a complete 
solution unless we provide com- 
plete support. And we do. Your Series 
500 comes with a one-year full war- 
ranty and 90 days' free software coun- 
seling. Most important, Keithley DAS 
provides you with a toll-free applica- 
tions hot line, for the times you need a 
helping hand. 

For a demonstration or more informa- 
tion, call us toll-free at 1-800-552-1H5. 
In Massachusetts call 617-423-7780. 
Or write us at Keithley DAS, 
349 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210. 
For literature on the Series 500, 
circle Reader Service Number 168 . 

Series 500 



© 1984 by Keithley DAS, Boston, Massachusetts 

FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 329 



SuperSoft Languages 

When Performance Counts 



A programmer's most 
important software tool is 
the language compiler or 
interpreter he uses. He has 
to depend on it to work 
and work well. 

At SuperSoft, we believe it. 
That's why we offer three 
excellent compilers: 
SuperSoft FORTRAN, 
SuperSoft C, and SuperSoft 
BASIC. They answer the 
programmer's need for 
rock solid, dependable 
performance on 
microcomputers. 



SuperSoft 
FORTRAN 

With large code and data. 

SuperSoft FORTRAN version 2.0 
with large code and data space 
is now available under MS DOS 
and PC DOS. It gives you the 
power to compile extremely large 
FORTRAN programs on micros. 
It allows double precision and 
complex numbers, full IEEE float- 
ing point, and a full range of other 
important features for the serious 
FORTRAN programmer. Both 
8087 support and a RATFOR pre- 
processor are optionally available. 
FORTRAN (CP/M-80 & 86, MS 

DOS, PC DOS): $325 
8087 support $50 RATFOR:$100 



SuperSoft A 

A true Ada* subset 

SuperSoft A is a completely standard 
subset of the Ada language, incor- 
porating approximately 63% of the 
standard Ada syntax and including 
such important features as packages 
and separate compilation . For CP/ 
M- 80 microcomputers: $300. 

SuperSoft C 

SuperSoft C is a high-powered, full- 
featured C compiler designed for 
serious C applications. It is fast - 
both in compilation and execution, 
and it is packed with more than 1 35 
library functions (all delivered in 
source code form). SuperSoft C 
produces optimized assembly code, 
and object code can be ROMed. 

SuperSoft C (for CP/M-80, CP/M-86, 
MS DOS, PC DOS): $350 




BASIC Con*** 






L* 



SuperSoft 
BASIC 

The SuperSoft BASIC compiler lets 
you get serious with business and 
financial programs. It uses BCD 
math to give you highly accurate 
results for demanding applications. 
SuperSoft BASIC is a true native 
code compiler that is generally 
compatible with Microsoft's BASIC 
interpreter. And an additional 
bonus - no run time license fee is 
required. 

SuperSoft BASIC Compiler (for 
MS DOS, PC DOS, and CP/M-86): 
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Also available for programmers: 

Star-Edit, a full-featured 

programmer s text editor: $225.00 
Disk-Edit, an invaluable 

programmer's disk data editor: 

$100.00 



To order call 800-762-6629 

In Illinois call 217-359-21 12 



In conjunction with SuperSoft, Supersoft FORTRAN was developed by Small Systems Services, 
Clrbana, IL, a leader in FORTRAN development. 

Japanese Distributor: ASR Corporation International, TBL Building, 7th Floor, 1-19-9 Toranomon, 
Minato-Ku, Tokyo 1 05, Japan Tel. 03-5025550. Telex 222-5650 ASRTYO J. 

*Ada is a trademark of the Department of Defense 
PC DOS is a trademark of International Business Machines. 
MS DOS is a trademark of Microsoft. 
CP/M-80 and CP/M-86 are trademarks of Digital Research, Inc. 

330 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



SuperS ft 

SuperSoft, Inc., 1713 S. Neil St., 
P.O. Box 1628, Champaign, IL 61820 



Inquiry 304 



REVIEW FEEDBACK 



Sage II and IV 



1 was pleased to see the review by Allen 
Munro of the Sage II and Sage IV in your 
July 1984 issue (page 23 5). I agree with 
the author's conclusion that the Sages are 
fast, powerful, and reliable machines. I've 
owned a Sage IV for almost a year now 
and I'm extremely pleased with it. Not one 
single glitch so far. 

After getting used to the power and 
speed of the Sage it's hard to imagine go- 
ing back to a slower machine. The amount 
of Sage software in terms of operating sys- 
tems, languages, utilities, and applications 
may cover the broadest range in the in- 
dustry. {How many computers offer 10 
operating systems and languages such as 
Ada and APL?) I do have some problems 
with Mr. Munro's review, however. 1 find 
several misleading and simply incorrect 
items. 

First, the graphs are terribly misleading. 
The price graph states that the com- 
parison is for systems with "two high- 
capacity floppy-disk drives," yet the Sage 
line lists the Sage IV at $7300, which in- 
cludes a hard disk. By the way. the price 
shown for the IBM PC XT is considerably 
lower than we've paid for that machine. 

The spreadsheet comparison reaches 
the point of being ridiculous. The graph 
is labeled "Multiplan." Yet we read in the 
fine print that the Sage run was actually 
on Timberline, a p-System spreadsheet 
with many more bells and whistles than 
Multiplan that is consequently much 
slower. This is NOT a benchmark. 

The BASIC calculation comparison is not 
valid. Even though the Sage's power is 
shown to be an advantage here, the com- 
parison is still against the Sage. The pro- 
cedure states that the calculation test in- 
volved 10,000 multiplication and division 
operations. Later, in the fine print, we find 
that the Sage runs were using 64-bit real 
arithmetic. 

There are also minor discrepancies in 
the system standard configurations. For in- 
stance, both the II and IV come equipped 
with the IEEE-488 interface as standard 
equipment, not just the IV Also, the pic- 
ture of the computer shown in "At a 
Glance" is a Sage II, not a Sage IV True. 
Sage did try for a short time to market all 



machines as the IV, but soon returned to 
the II/IV separation. As many Sage ads as 
you've run, I'm sure you could have ob- 
tained the right pictures. 

Incidentally, Mr. Munro failed to note 
some of the more exotic standard features 
of the Sage, such as the fact that its 
multiuser capacity is not operating-system- 
dependent, which means that different 
operating systems with multiusers on each 
can operate simultaneously. Or that multi- 
users can be assigned to the same ter- 
minal, thus producing concurrency with 
any operating system. 

I'm a professional engineer with over 20 
years of experience in the computer 
arena. I currently direct a large staff of 
scientific programmers using everything 
from PCs. HPs, 3033s. and 3081s up to the 
CRAY-1. I'm convinced that the Sage is by 
far the best computer value in today's 
market. It outperforms many upper-end 
"business oriented" machines, including 
several minicomputers, at a fraction of the 
price. 

Bill Brummett 
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 

We thank Mr. Brummett for noting an 
error in our Sage review, The prices listed 
for the Sage Il/IV on the "At a Glance" 
page were incorrect. The prices were 
listed as $3200 and $7300. The prices for 
the BYTE standard configuration (in- 
cluding terminal, two drives, and BASIC) 
should have been $4 790 and $8190. The 
price of the IBM PC not the XT was 
given in the graph and was labeled as 
such. 

For our Spreadsheet test we usually 
use Multiplan. For the Sage, we used the 
only spreadsheet available, Timberline. 
The purpose of our spreadsheet test is 
to determine how fast a given system/ 
software combination can perform a 
given task. In this case, the Sage/Timber- 
line combination is twice as slow as the 
IBM PC/Multiplan combination. Inciden- 
tally, bells and whisties do not always 
slow down a program: for example, Lotus 
1-2-3 runs three times faster than Multi- 
plan on the IBM PC. 

As for the BASIC calculation test, again 
we wanted to time how long it took a 
given system to do a given task. Most cal- 



culations only require seven significant 
digits. If a system cannot efficiently sup- 
port this type of arithmetic then in this 
test that system is penalized slightly and 
justifiably 

Finally, there was what looked to be a 
discrepancy in the photograph of the 
Sage. The machine in the picture, which 
we received directly from Sage, was con- 
figured as a Sage 11 but was marked as 
a Sage IV. We were aware of the dis- 
crepancy at the time, but we can only 
photograph what we receive. We do not 
change or alter products to put them in 
a better light. We are, however, glad to 
hear that Sage is now labeling their prod- 
ucts more logically 

—Rich Malloy 
Senior Technical Editor 

Sanyo MBC 550 

Bill Sudbrink was generally fair in his 
review of the Sanyo MBC 5 50 (August 
1984, page 270). However, there were ob- 
vious errors in the article that do a disser- 
vice to an excellent product. To begin with, 
the comparison of execution time be- 
tween the IBM and Apple running Multi- 
plan to the Sanyo running CalcStar was 
misleading and irresponsible. Only the 
fine print at the bottom of the page ex- 
plained the untruth of the spreadsheet 
(Multiplan) caption. The fine print further 
stated that "Sanyo BASIC apparently can- 
not access other disk drives." This is in- 
correct. The author apparently was not 
aware that the catch here is that the drive 
specifier must be in uppercase such as 
LOAD "B:filename". Granted, the docu- 
mentation did not point this out, and I 
agree that it was an unfortunate oversight. 
James G. Droppo Jr. feels that the Sanyo 
BASIC screen editor is limited in com- 
parison to the IBM Personal Computer 
(PC) BASIC screen editor (see "The 
Double-Drive MBC-555." August 1984, 
page 278). Maybe so. However, I find it 
much more convenient than that which 
comes with some of the PC-compatibles. 
The Sanyo's feature of being able to sus- 
pend and resume scrolling during a list is 
super. Entering changes during program 
debugging is also far superior. 1 can make 

{continued} 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 331 



REVIEW FEEDBACK 



changes all over the screen, then with one 
touch of the Break key I can be assured 
that every change has, in fact, been 
entered into the program. Try that in IBM's 
BASICA! 

After having used a Columbia profes- 
sionally and a Sanyo recreationally on a 
daily basis for several months, I find that 
I prefer to use the Sanyo, if possible, 
because of its superior keyboard arrange- 
ment, its large Return key a better key 
"feel," its handy reset switch, and the 
dedicated asterisk key. 

Orrin B. Iseminger 
Colton, WA 

Revising the Sieve 

Mark Bridger's article, "Four Logos for the 
IBM PC" (August 1984, page 287), in- 
cludes two benchmark programs using the 
Sieve of Eratosthenes— one iterative and 
one recursive. They execute in about the 
same amount of time but differ in how 
many primes can be discovered before 
stack space is gone. IBM Logo used the 
stack space best but it could not get all 
the primes through 1 500 using the recur- 
sive version in the review. 

In the November 1984 BYTE (page 356), 
Ian MacMillan of Logo Computer Systems 
Inc. gives a revision of the recursive ver- 
sion that finds all primes through 1 500 on 



a 128K-byte IBM PC. MacMillan's program 
runs about as fast as the other two; its 
main feature is efficient use of tail 
recursion. 

The version in listing 1 uses Logo's prop- 
erty lists to increase simplicity. It might not 
use stack space as efficiently, but it seems 
to execute on a 128K-byte IBM PC. 

It also seems to execute faster. For ex- 
ample, the Zenith Z-150 takes over 3 5 
minutes for the primes through 1 500 using 
MacMillan's version but only 15 minutes 
for the version in listing 1, 

Furman Smith 
Montgomery, AL 

PeachText 5000 

In the September 1984 Review Feedback 
(page 3 55), A. Stanbury reported prob- 
lems with the PROP ON and PROP OFF 
commands for PeachText 5000. We had 
similar problems, and after about two 
months of talking to our dealer 1 was 
allowed to talk directly to people at 
Peachtree They told me about the follow- 
ing patch that corrected the problem. 

Use the Debug (under PC-DOS 2.0) utili- 
ty to patch the PRINT.PGM portion of 
PeachText. When you are done the screen 
should look like the following: 

DEBUG PRINT.PGM 



Listing 1: Revised recursive version of the Sieve program. 

TO SIMPLE.SIEVE :LIMIT 
MAKE "PRIME 2 
CARRY.ON 
END 

TO CARRY.ON 

IF :PRIME > ;LIMIT (TONE 300 3 STOP) 

PRINT PRIME 

MAKE "FOOTPRINT PRIME 

CROSS.OUT 

MAKE 'PRIME PRIME. AFTER PRIME 

CARRY.ON 

END 

TO CROSS.OUT 

IF POOTPRINT > :LIMIT (STOP) 

MAKE "FOOTPRINT POOTPRINT + PRIME 

PPROP POOTPRINT "? "N 

CROSS.OUT 

END 

TO PRIME.AFTER :NUMBER 

MAKE "NUMBER :NUMBER + 1 

IF NOT GPROP :NUMBER "? = "N (OUTPUT :NUMBER) 

OUTPUT PRIME.AFTER :NUMBER 

END 



- E3558 

091B.3558 A0.F6 0D.06 08. FC 34.07 
80.01 A2.75 0D.0C 08.A0 

091B:3560 F6.0D 06.08 FC.34 07.80 
01. A2 74.0D 04.08 FF. 

-W 

-Q 

Refer to the Debug instructions for the 
correct interpretation of this information. 

To make the superscript and subscript 
function work, it is absolutely essential to 
use one of the printers listed on the con- 
figuration menu. Unfortunately, there is no 
way to customize the printer driver to ac- 
commodate printers other than those 
listed. I hope this helps. 

John Sonewald 
Rolla, MO 

I am writing in regard to the letter in 
Review Feedback from A. Stanbury 
(September 1984, page 3 55). 

I have been using PeachText and its 
predecessor, the MagicWand, for more 
than six years and have yet to find 
anything I like better. By comparison, 
WordStar with its voluminous help mes- 
sages, disk-intensive editing, and com- 
plicated commands is not worth the trou- 
ble Stanbury complains that proportional 
spacing, character spreading, and sub- 
and superscript don't work with PeachText. 
It is stated clearly and often in the manual 
that these functions will only work with 
printers (such as the NEC Spinwriter) 
equipped to handle them. 

The only complaint I have with Peach- 
Text 5000 is that it is not integrated, but 
it does the job and the price is right. The 
Heath H-110 (Zenith Z-100 clone) is also 
a best buy. It does everything better than 
the IBM. 

Rod Hallen 
Medan, Indonesia 

Leading Edge PC 

Jeffrey Mazur did a good job in the review 
of the Leading Edge PC (September 1984, 
page 312). However, I want to bring up a 
couple of points. 

First, the fan was not correctly designed. 
It draws air from inside the system unit and 
expels it out the back. This air is drawn 
through such convenient openings as the 
disk-drive doors. This results in dust 
deposits on the inside of the disk drive 
and other boards. 

The second item concerns the Leading 
Edge word processor, which is excellent. 
However the program came with very few 
printer drivers. After all, many users own 



332 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



REVIEW FEEDBACK 



Okidatas and the newer Epsons. What 
caused my concern was that my MX-80 
(type 3) is capable of solid underlining, 
italics, and super- and subscripting, but the 
word processor does not support these 
features. My dealer told me that Leading 
Edge will provide additional printer 
drivers in the future. 

I feel that I have made the right decision 
in buying the Leading Edge PC The only 
alternative is an IBM PC; if purchased 
locally with similar software, it would cost 
almost $14,000. 

Ramesh Indhewat 
Bangkok Thailand 

Leading Edge 
Word Processing 

The software review entitled "Leading 
Edge and MultiMate" {November 1984, 
page 287) is strewn with bias and inac- 
curacies. Our documentation is being 
rewritten, the latest 1.2 version of the soft- 
ware has increased speed, and at no point 
in time could it be considered inefficient. 
If during the reviewing process the 
reviewer had called us to find out 
something about the future of our 
package, that could have been reported. 

We are, if anything, faster than MultiMate 
in just about everything and give Word- 
Star a run for the money in almost all 
categories. We also provide easy-to-use 
and easy-to-learn word processing that we 
feel is leagues ahead of WordStar, How 
does the reviewer know that "Programs 
like MultiMate and Leading Edge might be 
easy to teach because they are designed 
for correspondence and short reports, 
projects that require few commands"? 
Both Leading Edge and MultiMate have 
many similarities to the Wang word pro- 
cessor. Surely the reviewer doesn't intend 
us to believe that the original Wang word 
processor was designed solely for short 
reports and correspondence. 

Finally, this is the only reviewer to date 
who did not like Leading Edge Word Pro- 
cessing or see it as a great value for the 
money. It is not wrong to be different or 
to state opposing points of view, as long 
as one has done the research correctly 
thoroughly, and fairly. In comparing our 
1.1 version with the current version of 
MultiMate and WordStar, the author has 
done a grave disservice to BYTE's readers. 

J. B. Royal 

Senior Vice President 

Word Processing R&D 

Leading Edge Products Inc. 

Canton, MA 



Spirit 80 



1 was pleased to see Mark Welch's review 
of the Mannesmann Tally Spirit 80 printer, 
(November 1984, page 33 5). I agree with 
your conclusions that it represents a fine 
combination of improved print quality and 
lower price 

I've experienced the occasional paper 
jamming that Welch mentioned, but only 
when I tried to print from the top of a cut 
sheet of paper. What seems to happen is 
that the paper is hampered as it first goes 
through the paper bail rollers and jams 
either against them or against the remov- 
able cover. The remedy is to have about 
a half-inch of paper past the print head 
when starting printing or a full sheet if 
beginning precisely at the top of the form 
is essential. If an adjustment of the top of 
the form is desirable you can ask the 
printer to pause at the end of the first 
page. Using these procedures, I've had no 
jamming. 

Two points Welch does not mention 
might be of importance to some users. 
The cassette ribbons used by the Spirit 80 



are specific to it and list for about $12, 
though I've found them for $7 at a dis- 
count house. Second, the replaceable 
print head is rated at 30 million characters, 
significantly less than some other dot- 
matrix printers; for medium use, I still con- 
sider it adequate {at 1.6K bytes per page, 
that represents about 19,000 double- 
spaced pages). 

Christopher Conly 
Seattle, WA 

Sanyo Customer Support 

I would like to share Harvey J. Cooper- 
smith's complaint in Review Feedback 
(November 1984, page 357) about Sanyo's 
poor response to owner's problems. I 
bought the Sanyo 12 50 and had difficulty 
booting up the CalcStar program. 

I forwarded to Sanyo the error mes- 
sages, original disks, warranty and original 
purchase receipt with instructions written 
in large letters to return the receipt for my 
income tax records. Sanyo returned the 
original disks with a scribbled note stating 

{continued) 



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TWX 910-291-2190 



Inquiry 176 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 333 



REVIEW FEEDBACK 



that its testing equipment found no prob- 
lems. The booting problem remained, and 
Sanyo offered no explanations for the 
error messages. Moreover, the company 
did not return the warranty or the original 
purchase receipt as I requested. For- 
tunately, I resolved the booting problem 
by PIPping the components of CalcStar 
between the two disks. 

Maxim W. Mikulak 
Nesconset NY 

Gifford Update 

Since my recent review ("Gif ford's MP/M 
8-16," January, page 305) Gifford Computer 
Systems (2446 Verna Court, San Leandro, 
CA 94577, (415} 895-0798) has started 
shipping MC-DOS, the multiuser concur- 
rent disk operating system. This operating 
system is one of the first implementations 
of Digital Research Inc.'s Concurrent CP/M 
3.1 to be available for non-IBM hardware. 
MC-DOS resembles MP/M 8-16 at the user- 
interface level, so the user who is already 
familiar with the older Gifford offering 
needs little training. Upgrades include a 



simple update guide for converting from 
MP/M 8-16 to MC-DOS. 

MC-DOS has several advantages, includ- 
ing increased speed. Concurrent CP/M is 
basically an outgrowth of MP/M-86 and 
uses disk buffering, directory buffering, 
hashing, etc, to allow faster operation. The 
M-Drive/H 512K-byte board is no longer 
used as a disk emulator but serves as 
a large hard-disk buffer. A utility locks 
any files into this buffer, so they are unaf- 
fected by the LRU (least recently used) 
technique of buffer flushing. This provides 
an MC-DOS user with the advantages of 
a large buffer and a solid-state disk 
emulator. 

Gifford incorporated local-area network- 
ing into its new operating system. Optional 
Arcnet hardware is available for Gifford's 
S-100 systems and IBM PCs, and all appro- 
priate utilities in the MC-DOS package 
have been modified. 

Also new from Gifford is the Macrotech 
Ml-286 dual-processor board, now sup- 
ported and shipped in most Gifford sys- 
tems. This board was designed as a plug- 
compatible replacement for the Compu- 



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Pro 8085/8088 board. It comes in its stan- 
dard configuration with a 6-MHz 80286, 
an 8-MHz Z80H, and a socket for an op- 
tional 5.33-MHz 80287 numeric processor. 
Operating in an 8086-compatible mode. 
the Ml-286 offers as much as two-and-a- 
half times more throughput under ideal 
circumstances. 

MC-DOS lists for $695, and you must 
order it for a specific hardware configura- 
tion. MP/M 8-16 is listed in the price guide 
for $1345. The networking software and 
a single board cost $895. A networking 
package for the IBM PC XT and compati- 
bles is available. Passive hubs (connecting 
up to four nodes, 200-foot maximum) are 
$95, while an active hub (eight nodes, 
2000-foot maximum) is $795. The Macro- 
tech Ml-286 processor board with the 
standard Gifford two-year replacement 
warranty is $1 595, and the 80287 numeric 
processor is $650. 

Charles H. Strom 
New York NY 

The Compaq DeskPro 

I noticed with interest in the November 
1984 Reviewer's Notebook (page 261) that 
you have been using a Compaq DeskPro. 
The DeskPro is not compatible with the 
384K-byte Quadram Quadboards; I have 
tried three in my DeskPro and each makes 
the screen go into outer space when the 
machine tries to switch resolutions on the 
monochrome monitor. Compaq claims on 
the telephone that this board is compati- 
ble with the machine, and people at 
Quadram have discussed it for the past six 
weeks or so, but I think it is clear that the 
board is not usable with this computer. 
Dealing with Quadram about this has 
soured me on them as a source of 
peripherals for IBM-type machines— their 
support is weak. 

A couple of additional points: Compaq's 
documentation is helpful in setting up the 
machine, but it doesn't include much tech- 
nical information (like a memory map}, 
and Compaq's customer-support tele- 
phone number will only answer real ques- 
tions from dealers, not end users. 

George Carey 
Marietta, GA 



REVIEW FEEDBACK is a new column of 
readers' letters. We welcome responses 
that support or challenge BYTE reviews. 
Send letters to Review Feedback, BYTE 
Publications, POB 372, Hancock, NH 
03449. Name and address must be on 
all letters. 



334 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 372 



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TROUBLES HAVE WE ALL, and this month Jerry Pournelle mentions 
some space problems at Chaos Manor talks about the problem of 
choosing computer books, and still finds time to look at some 
interesting goodies. 

In BYTE Japan, columnist Bill Raike's trip to the 1984 Data Show pro- 
vides some information on disk-drive storage technology and laser 
printers. 

From California, BYTE West Coast looks at a high-resolution digitizer 
for the Mac, some new workstations, and the windowing game. 

Dick Pountain, our U.K. contributing editor, appears to have found 
the system that he's always wanted— and this time it's affordable. 

We introduce a new column this month— Computers and Law. 
Attorneys Robert Greene Sterne and Perry J. Saidman begin with the 
legal issues of copying software. 

Also this month, Steve Ciarcia again finds time to answer readers' 
questions about his projects in Circuit Cellar Feedback. 

Computing at Chaos Manor: Troubles by ]erry Pournelle 339 

Chaos Manor Mail conducted by jerry Pournelle 359 

BYTE Japan: Disks and Printers by William M. Raiki 367 

BYTE West Coast: What Next? 

by John Markoff. Phillip Robinson, and Ezra Shapiro 371 

BYTE U.K.: Realizing a Dream by Dick Pountain 379 

Computers and Law: Copying Mass-Marketed Software 

by Robert Greene Sterne and Perry J. Saidman 387 

Circuit Cellar Feedback conducted by Steve Ciarcia 393 





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COMPUTING 

AT CHAOS MANOR 



Troubles 



I have problems. My office its exten- 
sion, the back room, and indeed my 
whole house are filled with software 
books, computers, and computer com- 
ponents. 

I've foreseen the crisis. We have plans for 
rebuilding Chaos Manor, adding a large new 
library office, and workshop as a second 
story. If I can get that up, I'll last awhile 
longer. Alas, my real problem is with the city 
of Los Angeles, which has taken nearly a 
year to process my application to let me 
build that second story. If 1 have any friends 
in the appropriate departments— it's a yard 
variance I need, to let me build out even 
with the existing office extension— HELP! 



Computer Books 

SemiDisk 

Valdocs/GX-10 Revisited 

PCturbo 186 

PC Reset 

Electric Dragon 

Small Disks 

Newmedia 

SPUZ 

UNIX 

Flow Charting BoOKS Ahoy 

Free Filer I've just sent in the final version of my Adven- 
tures in Microland (Baen Books, spring 1985). 
Like The Users Guide to Small Computers (Baen 
by Jerry Pournelle Books, 1984), it's a collection of my BYTE 

and Popular Computing columns with con- 
siderable updating. 1 don't change the col- 
umns, but I do add information and com- 
ments to make them up-to-the-minute time- 
ly. Indeed, Adventures will contain columns 
that haven't been published as I write this. 

After 1 finished the book I called my pub- 
lisher, Jim Baen; what he told me is very 
disturbing. 

It also gives me a problem. 1 want to enlist 
your help in what I think is a cause impor- 
tant to all of us. So far, so good, but I'm 
hardly a disinterested party. 



\erry Pournelle holds a doctorate in 

psychology and is a science-fiction 

writer who also earns a comfortable 

living writing about computers 

present and future. 



The Book Explosion 

The problem is real: there's been an enor- 
mous explosion of computer books. 
Publishers Weekly estimated the total 1985 
sales of computer books to be comparable 
to fiction. However, there are so many com- 
puter books that no one of them does very 
well. Moreover, many of those books are 
pure schlock. Many publishers, seeing the 
rapid expansion of the computer-book 
category, simply flooded the market with 
books regardless of their quality. Quick in, 



quick profit, quick out. The result is that the 
field will soon be awash in dreck; and by 
a kind of Gresham's law, the bad books 
drive out the good ones. Publishers who 
take their time, bringing out carefully edited 
books of high quality— publishers like 
Que— are already being forced out, leaving 
the field to the schlockmeisters and 
hypesters. 

The problem is curable but complicated. 
What's happening is that book buyers— the 
book-chain and book-distributor officials 
charged with actually ordering the books- 
do not know the difference between the 
good and the bad. How could they? A year 
ago these same people were buying 
romances. Romances are down, computer 
books are up, so their assignments 
changed. They didn't read the romances 
they used to buy, and they aren't reading 
the computer books they buy now. 

My books sell fine once they get to the 
bookstores— but the only reason they get 
to the store in the first place is that the 
salespeople remember me as a science- 
fiction writer. Frank Herbert wrote a com- 
puter book. So did Pournelle. Neither the 
book buyers nor the publisher's sales force 
ever heard of this column, or indeed of 
BYTE magazine; magazine sales are 
handled by entirely different people. Since 
buyers don't know the difference between 
good and bad computer books, they order 
"some of each." If the salespeople insist that 
a particular book is hot, the buyer may 
order twice as many of that one; still not 
enough to make any sales. 

The Remedy 

The only cure for this is consumer organiza- 
tion, and the only relevant organized con- 
sumer groups I know of are the enthusiasts 
and hobbyists. The largest block of those 
are BYTE readers. There was a time when 
we enthusiasts were the computer revolution. 
We're still the largest organized part of it. 
We're also the people who lose the most 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 339 



CHAOS MANOR 



if computer-book publishing is aban- 
doned to drecksters and schlock- 
meisters. We need good books. 

It's time for us to do something 
about the situation. If we don't, no 
one will. 

Several things must happen. First, 
most of us are accustomed to buying 
computer books in specialty stores. 
That's not the way to influence what's 
published. The impact is made in 
regular bookstores, and particularly in 
the big book chains: which means 
that if you don't see the computer 
books you want at your local B. Dalton 
and Waldenbooks, say something to 
the manager. Better yet, put in a 
special order. The only way the book 
buyers will know which are the best 
computer books is for store managers 
to tell them— and the only information 
source the managers have is us. Most 
of their customers don't know a good 
computer book from a bad one. The 
average computer-book buyer is so 
used to being ripped off that yet 
another overhyped horror isn't even 
noticed. 

It isn't enough to praise the good 
books. You must also condemn the 
bad. Now do understand what I mean 
by a bad book. I'm not talking about 
books that I disagree with or say "bad 
things," as for example the silly books 
that try to claim that computers are 
bad for poor people. 1 am thoroughly 
uninterested in censorship of ideas. 
No; by "bad books" I mean those that 
are poorly edited, filled with typos 
and misspelled words, crammed with 
jargon; books with neither index nor 
analytical table of contents; books 
written so poorly that you don't know 
whether or not you disagree with the 
authors because you can't understand 
what they said. Books with programs 
that can't possibly run. Books filled 
with obsolete materials. 

There are plenty of such books, and 
if you discover that a particular 
publisher seems to bring out a lot of 
them— you won't have any trouble 
finding them if you look on the 
shelves of your local B. Dalton— then 
take them to the bookstore manager. 
Show her why these are bad books. 
Make sure she notices which pub- 



lisher put them out. 

There's another odd phenomenon: 
newcomers to the computer field are 
desperate for books, so much so that 
they pay little attention to price. It's 
strange: but a book will sell about as 
well at $19.95 as it does at $9.95. 
Publishers notice this sort of thing. If 
it keeps up, pretty soon there aren't 
going to be any low-cost books. In- 
cidentally, my own Pournelle Users 
Guide books, including both The Users 
Guide to Small Computers and Adventures 
in Microland, sell for $9.95. They'd sell 
for even less if there were the slightest 
evidence that lowering the price 
would sell significantly more books. 

If a certain publishing line con- 
sistently puts out overpriced schlock, 
complain loudly and often. If you find 
a publisher who consistently puts out 
good books at decent prices, tell your 
store manager that. 

Baen tells me that he can make five 
times the profit publishing science 
fiction— quality science fiction— than 
computer books. It's true for me, too: 
my advances for computer books are 
a pretty small fraction of what I can 
get for science fiction. So far, the love 
of the field— I really like writing about 
little computers— keeps me putting 
out the books, while hope that the 
market will settle into something 
reasonable keeps quality outfits like 
Baen Books publishing them, but it's 
a strain. The real computer en- 
thusiasts, led by BYTE readers, could 
make things a lot easier for the good 
guys. 

SemiDisk 

Speaking of good guys, SemiDisk Sys- 
tems of Beaverton, Oregon, continues 
to develop a high-quality line of RAM- 
disk products for S-100 machines, IBM 
PCs and PCIones, and the Epson 
QX-10. They've now got SemiDisk 
boards with up to 2 megabytes on 
board, and I believe their costs are 
now the lowest per megabyte in the 
industry. A RAM (random-access 
read/write memory) disk, for those 
few who tuned in late, is a method of 
fooling your computer into believing 
that a block of memory is a very fast 
disk; indeed, the computer can't tell 



the difference. In CP/M systems, we 
generally designate the RAM disk as 
M: (for memory drive); once installed, 
you use it as you would any other disk 
drive, copying files to and from it (use 
COPY in MS-DOS and PIP in CP/M), 
renaming files, erasing them, marking 
them read-only, etc. 

The time saved can be quite signifi- 
cant. For instance my accounting sys- 
tem begins with a journal, which is a 
report, in chronological order, of 
every financial transaction: income 
from my agent, or BYTE, or speaking 
engagements; travel expenses, com- 
puter supplies, salaries to my 
assistants, etc. From time to time, 
these must be posted into the general 
ledger. Since the files are quite large, 
each page of my ledger is a random- 
access disk file. There are about 200 
ledger pages, and each month's jour- 
nal has a couple of hundred entries. 

Due to sloth, I seldom post all these 
until year's end. That can take time. 
With 8-inch floppy disks, it takes about 
three hours. With my CompuPro 
(Quantum) hard disk, it takes about 50 
minutes. With a RAM disk, it takes just 
under 11 minutes to do a year's 
posting. Now true: in my CompuPro 
system I'm using a CompuPro M- 
Drive/H RAM disk; but we've done 
speed comparisons between Semi- 
Disk's S-100 boards and the Compu- 
Pro, and they're nearly identical. 
We've had a SemiDisk board running 
in Helen, Alex's CCS S-100 computer, 
for nearly three years with no prob- 
lems at all. 

Except for power failures, RAM 
disks are much more reliable than 
physical disk drives. There are no 
moving parts and no door latches to 
break (Barry Workman reports that 
he's still doing a brisk business in Ten- 
don drive-door latches). There's no 
maintenance and no problems with 
disks lunched by cats, tobacco, or 
stray magnetic fields. SemiDisk makes 
a battery backup unit; you can plug 
it into the wall, so that if you turn off 
your computer, the memory stored 
on SemiDisk doesn't go away; and if 
there is a power failure, the files are 
protected for up to six hours. 

That six-hour limit does bother me 



340 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



CHAOS MANOR 



somewhat, but in actual fact the 
longest power failure we've endured 
in 20 years here at Chaos Manor was 
only about four hours, and it hap- 
pened in the middle of the night. In 
fact, that data on my RAM disks is 
safer than the rest of what I'm doing 
since, although I've intended to get 
one for years, I blush to confess I am 
not using an uninterruptible power 
supply. I intend to get one Real Soon 
Now. 

As I said above, SemiDisk makes 
RAM-disk boards for the Epson 
QX-10; they've done that for years, 
and therein lies a tale. 

Valdocs Comes FORTH 
Again 

The Epson QX-10 story is very odd. 
Back in mid- 1982 Chris Rutkowski, 
president of Rising Star Industries, 
secretly showed the upcoming Epson 
computer to a number of writers. 
Rutkowski had been heavily involved 
in marketing the Epson printers (he 
once told me that he had made them 
the success they were) and was given 
a contract to develop unique software 
for the QX-10; he seemed to be in- 
volved with marketing the QX-10 at 
that time. 

The Epson QX-10 was yet another 
Z80 in a market flooded with new Z80 
machines, but it did have some 
special features. First, it had a bit- 
mapped screen, meaning that it was 
capable of better graphics than 
almost anything then on the market. 
Second, it could hook into an Epson 
dot-matrix printer, so that the on- 
screen graphics could be translated 
into hard copy. 

Third, the QX-10 would come out 
with Rutkowski's own keyboard 
design, which he called the HASC1; 
the acronym stood for human applica- 
tions standard computer interface. 
Rutkowski predicted a great future for 
that design; so great that he was go- 
ing to license it and charge 50 cents 
a copy, the money to go to a research 
institute that would improve human/ 
machine interface designs. The HASCI 
keyboard had a good feel and was in- 
tended for newcomers; Rutkowski 

[continued} 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 341 



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CHAOS MANOR 



tried to make it like a typewriter by, 
for example putting the Escape key 
well off to one side and labeling it 
"Margin Release." There were some 
other special-function keys with labels 
like "Edit" and "Copy" and "Delete 
Line." 

The QX-10's really big feature, 
though, was to be the integrated soft- 
ware known as Valdocs; this was go- 
ing to be so wonderful that Epson 
would stop the IBM flood, save the 
Z80 computer, and, while they were 
at it, wipe out CP/M. Epson pinned so 
many hopes on Valdocs that the com- 
pany didn't even have a CP/M version 
of the machine. Valdocs ran under 
TP/M. which is a kind of CP/M work- 
alike different enough from CP/M that 
CP/M hackers have real problems with 
it. 

More: the whole Valdocs/TP/M soft- 
ware package was developed in 
STOIC which is an offshoot of FORTH. 
The machine itself used a hardware 
bus developed by Epson America 
and employed by no one else. The 
result was that there were essentially 
no independent software or hardware 
developers interested in the Epson 
QX-10. 

Freezing out independent devel- 
opers has been the formula for finan- 
cial disaster for every computer com- 
pany that has tried it so far. Epson 
was going to bring it off, though, 
because of Chris Rutkowski, Rising 
Star Industries, and Valdocs. Valdocs 
would do everything. It made charts, 
wrote documents, kept track of files, 
made file indexes, took care of com- 
munications, did calculations, and 
kept track of calendars: in other 
words, at least what Borland's Side- 
kick plus WordStar does on the IBM 
PC and other 16-bit machines. 
Rutkowski had promised a salable ver- 
sion of Valdocs by the end of 1982. 
Epson America believed him and 
began a big advertising campaign. 

Alas, Valdocs wasn't ready in 
lanuary of 1983. The first versions 
were sent to test sites. I got one. I 
really wanted it to succeed, but it was 
a disaster. Valdocs was slow, sent 
without documents, easy to learn but 

{continued) 




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A447 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 343 



CHAOS MANOR 



hard to use, and quite capable of los- 
ing your files without warning. It could 
take up to a full minute simply to 
erase an unwanted file, and it took 
about 1 5 minutes to use Valdocs to 
create a one-paragraph letter. As to 
TP/M, the only documentation was 
some photocopied sheets so dim that 
i couldn't read them in strong light 
with a powerful glass; and it blew up 
if you tried to use standard CP/M util- 
ities such as SWEEP. 

Over the course of 1983, version 
after version of Valdocs (and, I sup- 
pose, of TP/M) emerged from Rising 
Star. All were improvements, but none 
were very good. In the September 
1983 BYTE (Valdocs Revisited, page 
480), Rutkowski promised that 
Valdocs 2.0 would fix everything and 
that it would be available soon (italics 
his). My answer was that I hoped he 
was right, but I didn't believe it; in my 
view, Valdocs was too ambitious for 
the Z80 chip. To do what Rutkowski 
wanted his software to do, you'd need 
a great deal more memory (8-bit com- 
puter chips such as the Z80 can ad- 
dress only 64 K bytes of memory 
directly; to have access to more re- 
quires kludges). 

One Possible Fix 

There was, though, one obvious im- 
provement that could be made to 
Valdocs: a RAM disk could probably 
take the software well past tolerable. 
The Epson used a very conserva- 
tive—and slow— disk-control system, 
and Valdocs is heavily dependent on 
disk operations, making it painful; but 
with a RAM disk it might become a 
pleasure to use. 

Apparently the people at SemiDisk 
thought so. In any event, they devel- 
oped a SemiDisk for the Epson QX-10. 
In the meantime, Epson had brought 
out a CP/M version of the QX-10. The 
CP/M Epson was a nice little machine, 
well made and handsome, but not 
particularly distinguished among Z80 
machines except for its extremely nice 
screen and graphics. The SemiDisk 
worked splendidly with the CP/M 
Epson— but of course that wasn't the 
system that needed the RAM disk. 
Alas, they never did get the software 



to connect up the SemiDisk to 
Valdocs. 

I don't blame them, understand. 
Working with an operating system 
written in FORTH and intended to ape 
CP/M is my idea of purgatory. The fact 
remains that even with plenty of 
cooperation from Rising Star, they 
never were able to tie SemiDisk to 
Valdocs; so we were never able to see 
whether the speed improvements 
would make Valdocs tolerable. 

A RAM disk would certainly have 
helped Valdocs. The trouble is that it's 
not really an integrated software 
package. It's not even callable on de- 
mand. It's only a set of chained 
programs. 

That is: when you invoke Sidekick 
on your IBM PC, the program is already 
in memory and so is your own work 
in progress. Whatever you were do- 
ing stays where it was, while Sidekick 
operates with its own section of the 
PCs memory cells. If Sidekick needs 
to call in a file from disk— such as the 
calendar or the help file— it does it, 
but it still hasn't disturbed what you 
were doing. The result is that when 
you exit Sidekick, you're right back 
where you were when you brought it 
in. 

Valdocs doesn't work that way. 
When you change functions in 
Valdocs, it must first save your current 
work to disk, then bring the new job 
in off the disk. When you return to 
your previous work, that process is 
reversed. Disk operations are slow. 
Five-inch floppies are very slow. If 
Valdocs could have been hooked up 
with a good RAM disk, the slowest 
and worst part would be speeded by 
a factor of at least 10, and Valdocs 
might have been tolerable. Alas, that 
didn't happen. 

Real Soon Now 

In October 1984 Rutkowski an- 
nounced the imminent release of 
Valdocs 2.0 in a big press conference. 
Computer writers who were present— 
I didn't go; it was in the Bay Area and 
I live in Hollywood— had mixed reac- 
tions. The BYTE staff wasn't very im- 
pressed, especially when they were 
told that certain features promised for 



2.0 would be implemented in "the 
next version." 

Valdocs 2 .0 was developed with a 
new language: according to Rising 
Star, a greatly improved version of 
FORTH. It will employ a new operat- 
ing system, TP/M 3. It was developed 
under a radical new organizational 
structure: many programmers, work- 
ing individually in locations from New 
Hampshire to Hollywood, linked by 
electronic mail, each working on a 
small part of the system, I wasn't told 
whether the documents were 
developed that way; perhaps it 
doesn't matter, since Rutkowski once 
told me that he didn't consider 
documents necessary anyway. The 
program ought to teach itself. 

The people at SemiDisk have been 
told by Rising Star that the software 
drivers for using a SemiDisk RAM disk 
with Valdocs 2.0 and TP/M 3 are 
"already written and installed direct- 
ly into the operating system." More- 
over, they actually have a copy of 
TP/M; they do not have Valdocs. 

My advice to QX-10 owners is not 
to hold your breath. The Valdocs 2.0 
release date is said to be January of 
1985. At the moment (December 12, 
1984), the software technicians inside 
Epson America do not have copies of 
Valdocs 2.0. 

Valdocs was a valiant effort. In my 
judgment, it was doomed from the 
beginning: 8-bit machinery just isn't 
powerful enough for what Valdocs at- 
tempted even if you don't further 
handicap it by trying to do it in 
FORTH. It's a kind of moot question 
anyway, now that the 16-bit integrated 
software packages are beginning to 
deliver what Valdocs promised. 

I've never understood the people at 
Epson America. They had everything 
going for them, but somehow they 
hitched themselves irrevocably to Ris- 
ing Star and Rutkowski's obsession 
with proving that you can write good, 
fast, compact, usable software in 
FORTH. Epson's loyalty to Rising Star 
is touching. I guess they can afford it. 

More Orchids 

Last month I reviewed Orchid Tech- 
nology's PCturbo 186 board ("Orchids 



344 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



CHAOS MANOR 



to You," page 363), which speeds up 
your IBM PC something wonderful. 
We've been running it for nearly two 
months now: no glitches, no prob- 
lems, and it's fast, FAST, FAST. 

The Orchid board uses its own on- 
board memory, allowing the original 
memory in your PC to become one 
or more RAM disks. Last month there 
was a problem: the Orchid manuals 
weren't clear enough on how to install 
the RAM disks. 

That's been fixed. Orchid now has 
an Options program that runs fine 
and lets you configure your PC in a 
number of ways, allocating memory 
to I/O (input/output) buffers, RAM 
disks, etc. The version sent to me still 
had documentation problems: but 
after my phone call to get Orchid's 
people to walk me through it, they 
once more rewrote the instructions, 
and I don't think you'll have trouble 
with them now. 



I'm very impressed with the Orchid 
PCturbo 186. 

So That s It . . . 

I've often wondered why there's no 
hardware reset key on the IBM PC 
(There isn't one on the PC AT either.) 
The lack of such a key can be pretty 
serious, as for instance when your 
machine locks up and won't listen to 
the keyboard at all, and you have to 
turn it off to get it going again. This 
is not good for hard disks. It isn't par- 
ticularly good for power supplies, 
either. 

Deep Blue my source inside IBM, 
has told me why there's no hardware 
reset: Microsoft didn't want IBM to 
put one on. It seems that if you can 
reset the machine it's easier to pirate 
software. IBM, for reasons not known 
to my source, went along with this 
nonsense. It didn't even put a hard- 
ware reset on the AT 



Of course, all the IBM people at 
Boca Raton use an expensive hard- 
ware addition called PC TYace that 
contains, among other things, a hard- 
ware reset. That's a pretty costly way 
out. 

Fortunately, there's a less expensive 
remedy. Security Microsystems, the 
manufacturer of Quickon, the nifty 
little switch that lets you dispense with 
the PCs memory test on power-on, 
now makes PC Reset, a combination 
gadget that will disable the memory 
test and also do a hardware reset. 
There's a version for the PC and 
another for the PC XT ; so far none for 
the AT, although I wouldn't be sur- 
prised if one is in the works. 

I've had Security's memory-disabler 
in Lucy Van Pelt, our fussbudget PC, 
for eight or nine months now with no 
problems. When we were installing 
the reset switch, we brought up the 

[continued] 




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Inquiry 257 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 345 



CHAOS MANOR 



PC with the memory test. We'd forgot- 
ten how long that takes: 90 seconds, 
if you have your system chock-full of 
memory. That's a long time. 

We've just put in the reset switch 
system. It works: push the button and 
it forces reset. To install it, you have 
to cut one power wire; Security Micro- 
systems thoughtfully includes a gizmo 



to reconnect the wire if you ever 
decide to remove the switch. The kit 
also includes an IC (integrated circuit) 
puller. Interestingly enough, it works 
with the PCturbo 186 board installed; 
I don't know whether or not it forces 
the 186 to reset. That board has its 
own hardware reset button on the 
back, and if I ever lock up the 186. I'll 




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probably use both reset buttons just 
to be sure. 

With an S-100 system, the contents 
of a RAM disk will survive a reset; at 
least they do with my CompuPro, 
which won't reformat a RAM disk 
that's already formatted. Alas, the Or- 
chid PCturbo 186 RAM-disk files do 
not survive resetting the PC, whether 
that's done by the Security Microsys- 
tems button or by Ctrl-Alt-Del. I 
suspect that's a function of the Orchid 
Software, but it may be inherent in the 
way Security Microsystems forces 
system reset. 

The Security Microsystems reset 
comes out the back of the machine 
to a big button reminiscent of the 
pickle switch on the old Norden 
bombsight. The company has 
thoughtfully included some sticky- 
back Velcro so that you can attach the 
button to the side of your PC at any 
convenient place. Alas, the Orchid 
PCturbo 186 button remains on the 
back where it's hard to get at. 

Anyway, you can now have hard- 
ware reset for your PC; gee, if this 
keeps up, the machine will have most 
of the features the Altair did. 

PC AT Rumors 

Knowledgeable sources are ordering 
their PC AT for delivery in six to nine 
months; it seems there are some hairy 
power-supply problems on many of 
the Aft recently delivered. This comes 
from a company that orders IBM PC 
equipment by the pallet load. 

Deep Blue tells me there are about 
80,000 PC Kb sitting in warehouses 
waiting for Intel to deliver 80286 
chips. The production yields on those 
chips are muck lower than expected. 
There's also some concern that the 
power supplies in many of those 
warehoused machines will have to be 
replaced or at least reworked. By the 
time you read this, you can be sure 
that IBM will have done something 
about the problem. Big Blue does not 
intend to ship equipment that 
frustrates users. 

I've further information on the AT 
according to a friend in an indepen- 
dent laboratory, the AT is set up for 

{continued) 
<«— Inquiry 185 




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Inquiry 66 



REAL MEN DON'T USE MENUS. 
I WANT TO KNOW HOW TO USE 
POWER COMMANDS. 




HERE'S HOW: 



FRAMEWORK SOFTWARE 



Framework™ has elegant 
menus that are handy for be- 
ginners and occasional users, 
but are easily bypassed once 
you know your way around 
the program. 

We're going to show you 
the simplicity and speed of 
using power commands to 
create and use our unique 
automatic outline. 

This fancy keywork is typi- 
cal of the power commands 
for all of the powerful inte- 
grated functions of Frame- 
work: word processing, 
spreadsheet, graphics, data 
management, and telecom- 
munications, as well as run- 
ning other sophisticated 
software such as dBASE IIP 
within Framework. And for 
writing macros or creating 
custom programs with FRED™ 
the built-in programming 
language, power commands 
are the only way to go. 

Boot Framework, and 
you've created the Frame- 
work desktop. 



Press 
the Ctrl 




and C keys together, then 
press the key. An outline 
appears on the screen. 

Type | Outline | (or 



4 1 




^ 


L, \ 



any title you like) 
and press the Return key. 

The outline is titled. 

'! Press the grey + key. 

You move to heading 

1.0. 

TVpe 



Main Point 1 



then press the 
Return key. Heading 
1.0 is titled. 



i 



Press the (down) 
arrow key. You've 
moved to subhead 1.1. 

Press the 
Ctrl and 
Ckeys 



Ctrl 



together, then the E key. 

A new heading is inserted 
under 1.1. 



Ctrl 



Press Ctrl and 
the grey + key. 

A subhead is added to the 
heading you just created. 
(Under any of these heads or 
subheads, you can be writing 
text, creating spreadsheets, 
generating graphics, etc.) 



Ctrl 



Press the 
Ctrl and 
Ckeys 



together, then the S key. 

A spreadsheet frame is cre- 
ated as the second subhead. 
Press the F9 key. 

There's the spread- 
sheet you created, 



F9 



full screen. 




F9 



Press F9 again. 

Back to the outline. 



Ctrl 



1 Press the 
Ctrl and 
Dkeys 



together, then the C key. 

Your desktop is cleaned up. 

Now, how's that for a power 
trip. And you did it by follow- 
ing a few simple directions. 
Amazing. In just seconds you 
were in control of a powerful 
creative tool. Which is the 
way we think software should 
work. 

For a dealer near you call 
(800) 437-4329, ext. 222. In 
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Well put you in control. 



Inquiry 25 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 349 



Subscription 
Problems? 




We want to help! 

// you have a 
problem with your 
BYTE subscription, 
write us with the 
details. We'll do our 
best to set it right. 
But we must have 
the name, address, 

and zip of the 

subscription (new 

and old address, if 

it's a change of 

address). If the 

problem involves a 

payment, be sure to 

include copies of 

the credit card 
statement, or front 

and back of 

cancelled checks. 

Include a "business 

hours" phone 

number if possible. 

We'll respond 

A.S.A.R 



BYTE 

Subscriber Service 

P.O. Box 328 
Hancock, NH 03449 



CHAOS MANOR 



multiprocessing— there are signals on 
the extra bus for it. (The "extra bus" 
is another strip of connectors that 
make the AT's bus 16 bits wide.) The 
extra bus seems to run all of the cur- 
rent PC cards just fine but also will run 
"wider" cards. 

Another thing: the AT's crystal is 
socketed, just as if IBM were planning 
for faster 80286s already. 

Synchronicity 

Talking with Jim Baen reminds me that 
he has a new software line. It includes 
a number of games, many based on 
the works of authors he's published— 
the most notable is Fred Saberhagen's 
Berserker series, and of course I'll 
finish the game based on Niven and 
Pournelle's Inferno Real Soon Now. I've 
mentioned Baen's Magic Keyboard 
several times before. 

There's also The Electric Dragon. 

The / Ching or Book of Changes has 
been around a long time; Confucius 
thought it was old at the time of 
Christ. It is supposed to have been 
composed about the time of the Tto- 
jan War. Scholars including Confucius 
and lung have thought it worth a great 
deal of study. Many science-fiction 
readers first heard of it through the 
late Philip K. Dick's masterful The Man 
in the High Castle, which, according to 
Dick, was largely written through the 
aid of the oracle. 

One uses the / Ching by tossing joss 
sticks to generate random numbers. 
The theory is that all events in the 
universe are connected, and thus the 
study of any event will lead to under- 
standing of events (and total situa- 
tions) existing simultaneously; and 
thus the total pattern of the universe 
will be brought to bear on the fall of 
the yarrow stalks. 

You can also generate the / Ching 
hexagrams by tossing coins; Chinese 
coins were supposed to be preferable, 
but I used to use silver dollars. 
Whatever method you use generates 
a hexagram of six lines. Each possi- 
ble hexagram has a name and con- 
siderable text concerning it. Study of 
that text is supposed to give you sage 
advice on what to do at this particular 
moment. 



350 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



Modern science, particularly the 
general theory of relativity holds that 
the concept of simultaneity is mean- 
ingless; and it isn't necessary to 
believe in the theory of the / Ching to 
be fascinated with it. You can also 
believe that its author was a very 
astute judge of human nature and 
wrote a number of mind-concentrat- 
ing passages designed to focus an in- 
dividual's powers of thought. 

In any event, the standard way to 
consult the / Ching involves hand 
washing, lighting incense, taking the 
book down from a high shelf, and un- 
wrapping it from its silk cover with 
great respect; laying it on a south- 
facing table in the middle of the room; 
and, after suitably composing one's 
mind, tossing the yarrow stalks in a 
precisely defined manner. 

With The Electric Dragon you mere- 
ly put a floppy disk into an IBM PC 
and type ICHING < return > The 
system will prompt you from there. 
The manual tells you that you may, if 
you like, treat your floppy disk with 
the proper reverence, place your com- 
puter facing south on a table in the 
middle of the room, and use incense 
Somehow it's not quite the same. 

However, the program does all that 
the yarrow stalks could do. Instead of 
tossing the sticks (or coins), you press 
any key whenever you feel that the 
time is propitious; this generates one 
line of the six-line / Ching hexagram. 
Lines are either yin or yang and can 
be either fixed or moving; if any of the 
lines is a "moving line" (the odds are 
good that at least one will be), you 
have actually generated two hexa- 
grams, and their meaning, modified 
by the meaning of the moving line or 
lines, must also be considered. The 
odds for generating each kind of line 
(as generated by tossing yarrow stalks) 
are easily calculated; one supposes 
that The Electric Dragon program 
duplicates those odds as closely as 
possible 

The manual was written by Steve 
Rasnic Tern. I've not read a lot of his 
poetry, but I have twice included 
poems by Tern in anthologies I've 
edited. The / Ching implemented in the 

{continued) 
Inquiry 236 — ► 







OPEN SYSTEMS • 430 OAK GROVE, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 • A UCCEL Company 



CHAOS MANOR 



program is the 1950 Richard Wilhelm 
translation rendered into English by 
Gary F. Baynes from Princeton Univer- 
sity Press. I'm no authority on ver- 
sions of the / Ching: I assume this is 
a good one mostly because I've 
known Jim Baen a long time, and he's 
always pretty careful to do things 
right— and I also know he's been in- 
trigued by the / Ching for many years. 
Certainly the messages read poeti- 
cally—and enigmatically— enough. 

The Electric Dragon program con- 
tains what amounts to a log book. You 
can type in your question, and after 
receiving an answer from the oracle, 
type in a comment; after which you 
can save the whole thing. The file is 
time- and date-stamped, so that it can 
become a kind of diary of your prob- 
lems and your thoughts about them. 
Alas, I've found no way to make hard 
copy to paste into my regular log 
book. 

You can also review previous ses- 
sions or study an individual hexa- 
gram. 

If you've ever wondered about the 
/ Ching, this is a reasonably painless 
way to consult it. At worst, it's an ex- 
pensive electronic log book. 

Small Disks! 

Everyone has moved to 5 14-inch disks; 
everyone, that is, except me. Eight- 
inch disks are still the main work- 
horses here at Chaos Manor. The 
CompuPro 8-inch double-sided for- 
mat holds 1.1 megabytes per disk: 
that's 180,000 English words, more 
than enough for a novel. I can copy 
all that in about two minutes flat. It's 
easy to keep lots of backup copies. 
Eight-inch drives are much faster than 
5 l A and significantly more reliable; I 
almost never get "retry" errors on the 
8-inch drives, and there's at least one 
a week with 514. 

However, most software now comes 
on the small disks, and it's a pain to 
have to get Peter to use the Disk 
Maker 1 to transfer it over to 8-inch 
format so that I can get it into the 
Golem, my big CompuPro 8/16 sys- 
tem. For some time now I've been 
promised small disks for the Golem; 
when the CompuPro hard disk ar- 



rived, it had a blank spot with a piece 
of yellow stick-on saying "514 drive 
goes here"; but nothing happened. 

Last week that got fixed. CompuPro 
sent down a big box that contained 
a new power supply and two Mit- 
subishi 96-tpi (tracks per inch) 5i4-inch 
drives. There was also a CompuPro 
Disk One-A controller that will handle 
both the 514-inch and 8-inch drives. 

We took the hard disk out of the old 
box and put it in the new; the old 
power-supply box went back up to 
Hayward, where CompuPro intends to 
take it apart to see how it has held up 
under nearly a year of intense use. 
Then Tony Pietsch came over to set 
things up. In the course of the installa- 
tion, we discovered one mode of 
board failure that the CompuPro 
quality-assurance people hadn't 
tested for. A quick phone call took 
care of that; they've now changed 
their test procedure. 

One of the main reasons I get so 
much attention from the people at 
CompuPro is that nearly everything 
they put out gets set up and used 
here before it gets to the public; and 
I often find problems that did not 
show up in other tests, precisely 
because I do not "test" equipment 
and software. I use it; and since we do 
almost everything here from writing 
books to running accounting software 
to writing programs, it gets "tested" 
a great deal more thoroughly than 
most test sites can manage. 

I generally find some problems. 
That's why I have more than one com- 
puter, including one I don't touch; 
when we get a problem with the ex- 
perimental system, I leave it alone un- 
til Tbny can look at it. He finds the 
problem, consults with CompuPro, 
and they modify the design, change 
software, or do what it takes to make 
things work properly. 

The result can be impressive. Tcike 
the Golem as an example. He's often 
torn apart and filled with experimen- 
tal equipment. We work him hard. Yet 
he hasn't been off duty for two weeks 
cumulatively in the more than two 
years we've had him. 

Anyway, the board glitch was fixed, 
as was a minor software problem; and 



I can now run my 5^-inch drives as 
well as 8-inch. They run under Tony's 
Newmedia program. Newmedia tells 
your system that any one of about 40 
different disk formats (he's adding to 
them all the time) is native. Once that's 
done, you can read, write to, and for- 
mat 514-inch disks in the format you 
chose. Possible formats include both 
48- and 96-tpi, IBM, Epson, Kaypro, 
and a whole bunch of others. 

Changing native formats with New- 
media takes about 30 seconds, after 
which you can use COPY or PIP to 
move files to the new format from the 
hard disk, 8-inch drive, or RAM disk. 
Like all of Tony's recent programs, it 
contains its own instructions; type 
NEWMEDIA ? < return > and it tells 
you all you want to know about using 
it. Newmedia with the CompuPro Disk 
One-A is going to save Peter and the 
Disk Maker I a lot of work. Incidental- 
ly, all of Tony Pietsch's software uses 
that convention: type the program 
name, space, and a question mark 
and the program explains itself. Nifty. 

Tony also brought the new very fast 
Copy and Format programs that cut 
disk-copy time in about half. 

My system was installed by Tony; 
but CompuPro has been working on 
making its stuff easier to get running, 
and installation of the new BIOS (basic 
input/output system) software can 
now be accomplished by running a 
single Submit file, which assembles 
the BIOS (you get the source code) 
and does the system installation. 
Pournelle's law still obtains though: if 
you don't know what you're doing, 
deal with people who do. In Compu- 
Pro's case, that translates to "work 
with Systems Centers unless you're 
pretty familiar with S-100 bus sys- 
tems." 

That Video Board 
and the SPUZ 

Tbny also brought over a copy of the 
new CompuPro PC-compatible S-100 
video board. Alas, he couldn't leave 
it; as of now there are only five of 
them in existence. CompuPro is mak- 
ing more next week, and I ought to 
have mine Real Soon Now. I can hard- 

{continued) 



352 BYT! 



FEBRUARY 1985 






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Inquiry 347 



Computer 




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Inquiry 235 



C Preprocessor 

If you have ever found yourself 
wishing that C had a more sophis- 
ticated preprocessor, you will appre- 
ciate this stand-alone preprocessor 
from Hyperon Software. 



Supports Harbison & Steefe 

Preprocessor 

Preprocessor Variables Si 

Expressions 

# While & Wo Loops 

Full Macros 

One Pass 

C Source & Documentation 

Provided 



Designed for portability. Presently 
PCDOS diskettes are available; please 
inquire about other formats. 

PriCe: $39.95 (California residents add 6%) 

Hyperon Software 

PO Box 3349 
Costa Mesa CA 92628 



5r spfu 



For the NEC PC 8201; 

SIDECAR/$349. 

32K Memory Cartridge, 
expandable to 128K 

32KROM 
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Tax: 6% (California only). 



PURPLE 

COMPUTING 

2068 Ventura Blvd. 
Camarillo, CA 93010 



Inquiry 259 



(800) 732-5012 

Inside California 
(805) 987-4788 



CHAOS MANOR 



Iy wait. When I get that in, we'll 
change my 8/16 over to Concurrent 
DOS, replacing the CompuPro 8/16 
processor board with the new 80286 
microprocessor and one or more 
SPUZes. 

SPUZ is CompuPro's code name for 
a concurrent Z80 board, which is 
already running in test sites, including 
at Tony's house. Once Tony is happy, 
it's my turn. I'm eager to get at it. 
When it's all done, there will be no 
more Switch! and Swap programs; if 
the machine's fed a Z80 program, it 
will run that simultaneously with 
1 6-bit 80286 programs. Bill Godbout 
says it's like having a box-full of com- 
puters; turn 'em loose and let 'em all 
play together, each one running at its 
own speed 

ConTpuPro also has a new version 
of Shirley, otherwise known as the 
CompuPro 10 multiuser system. The 
new one will fly with Concurrent DOS. 
Owners of the older machines will be 
able to upgrade through local Sys- 
tems Centers. 

UNIX? 

I've not changed my views on UNIX: 
on Mondays and Wednesdays I'm 
convinced it's going to sweep through 
the computer world like wildfire and 
be the unifying influence we all need. 
After all, Digital Research is supposed 
to be working on ways to make Con- 
current DOS run under UNIX; and" 
since PC-DOS runs under Concurrent 
DOS, that will go a long way toward 
integrating the micro world into one 
happy family. 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I recall 
that UNIX is enormous, too big and 
too slow, changes all the time, and 
generally requires a UNIX wizard to 
maintain; there's no way it's going to 
be popular outside large computer 
establishments. Give vanilla UNIX to 
business users and hear the screams 
of agony. 

For those interested, though, these 
rumors out of CompuPro: the Euro- 
pean branch of the firm has shipped 



a beta-test version of UNIX for the 
68000 chip to CompuPro Canada. 



This is supposed to be the full 
Berkeley UNIX plus System V. Compu- 



Pro also has UNIX System V for the 
80286 chip. It shouldn't take the com- 
pany all that long to bring UNIX into 
the United States. 

Flowcharts 

Mrs. Pournelle is doing a book plus 
computer program that will allow any 
child with access to a computer to 
learn to read. She can do that 
because she has for years been the 
reading teacher of last resort for the 
Los Angeles County juvenile justice 
system. Her students are teenage il- 
literates in a lockup. They mostly 
come with pound after pound of 
psychological mumbo jumbo that 
"proves" the kid can't possibly learn 
to read; it wasn't the school systems 
fault. 

She ignores that junk and teaches 
the kids to read. She hasn't failed yet. 

Now she's doing a book on 
methods. With the book will come a 
computer program. Alex and I are 
working on it. Her contract specifies 
that part of the advance will be paid 
when we turn in a flowchart of the 
computer program. By coincidence, 
we got that contract the same day 
that Flow Charting, a program by 
Patton and Patton, arrived. 

This looks as if it would be an easy 
system for producing flowcharts; 
heaven knows I'd like to use 
somethi ng like that, because modify- 
ing and redrawing flowcharts is one of 
the more boring ways to spend time. 

Alas, Flow Charting is copy-pro- 
tected. The manual says a backup 
copy of the program is provided, but 
there's none in my package. 

I'm not about to waste my time de- 
signing flowcharts that can then be ac- 
cessed only by use of an off-brand 
disk that I can't make backups of. For 
that matter, I don't much like using 
programs I can't put on a RAM disk. 
Looks as if Flow Charting goes off in- 
to the same corner as the other stuff 
I'll get to when things are slack. 

Free Filer 

One of Peter Flynn's jobs is compil- 
ing th e Items Disc ussed box. This can 



be a pretty tedious job. He has recent- 

{coniinued) 



CHAOS MANOR 



ly found an excellent CP/M program 
that makes it considerably easier. 

Free Filer from Tfelion Software was 
designed to work with WordStar files, 
but it works fine with WRITE text files, 
too. Free Filer is a "free form informa- 
tion retrieval system" that will let you 
keep card files, search through them 
on single or multiple keys, and make 
sorted files of the kind you see in the 
Items Discussed box. 

His example: suppose you had the 
following card entries: 

-Cats 

furry, sneaky, warm, smart, small, ed- 
ible (although eating them is not 
socially acceptable), semidomesti- 
cated, cheap to expensive 

—Sheep 

wooly medium-sized, warm, edible, 
domesticated, expensive 

—Toads 

small, wet, cold, beautiful [it's Peter's 
file, not mine], inedible [as far as I'm 
concerned], cheap 

Free Filer could be used to search 
for all animals that are small (toads 
and cats) or warm and expensive (cats 
and sheep) or cheap and edible (cats). 
Each time a record is found that con- 
tains the word or words searched for, 
it is displayed by itself on the screen. 
You then have the option to print it 
or add it to the search file. 

There are a number of ways to sort 
your data once you retrieve it. 

The program is not copy-protected 
and indeed urges you to make a 
backup copy before using it. It can be 
run from within WordStar as an infor- 
mation utility to generate specialized 
files that can then be included in the 
text you're working on. 

The instructions are simple, in 
English, and easy to use. There are 
plenty of examples. Free Filer is one 
of those wonderful little general- 
purpose text utilities that simplify life 
with computers. 

Recommended. 

Winding Down 

Tbny just called. He's got a CompuPro 
80286 board and SPUZ intended for 
me; first they go into his system for 



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checkout. COMDEX is coming up in 
two weeks; just after that I ought to 
have the new stuff aboard. 

I could say the book of the month 
was mine; certainly that was the book 
I put the most time and effort into. 
However, the real book of the month 
is The World of Digital typesetting by John 
W. Seybold (1984; Seybold Publica- 
tions, POB 644, Media, PA 19063; no 
price shown). This book will tell you 
a lot about typesetting equipment, 
software, and interfaces. It is not com- 
plete. There's more to the story; but 
this is a good introduction and history. 
Like Skillin and Gay's Words Into Print, 
Seybold's book belongs on the refer- 
ence shelf of any serious professional 
writer. It's not easy reading, but it's 
stuff that professional wordsmiths had 
better know. 

There hasn't been enough time for 
games, so there is no game of the 



month. However, I have been pro- 
moted to Vice Admiral in the Cygnus 
Star Fleet I game. 

We've ordered 512K-byte upgrades 
for our Macintosh computers, but 
they haven't come yet. Our dealer 
says Real Soon Now. 

Finally, I just got a call from AT&T, 
and it looks as if I'm going to get one 
of the UNIX-running 3B2 systems to 
play with; hopefully, in a couple of 
months I'll know what to think about 
UNIX on Fridays and weekends. ■ 



jerry Pournelle welcomes readers' com- 
ments and opinions. Send a self- 
addressed, stamped envelope to jerry 
Pournelle. do BYTE Publications, POB 
372, Hancock. NH 03449. Please put 
your address on the letter as well as on 
the envelope. Due to the high volume of 
letters, jerry cannot guarantee a personal 
reply. 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 355 



TOGETHER, 
STOPPING 

YOU. 




356 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 




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Inquiry 209 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 357 



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35* BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 312 for Dealers. Inquiry 313 for End-Users. 



CHAOS MANOR MAIL 



Corvus Problems 



Dear Jerry, 

I was very interested to see your com- 
ments on the Corvus hard disk. We've 
been using one for almost two years. Our 
experience has been frustrating, different 
enough from yours, and, I hope, relevant 
to enough people that you might decide 
to look into it further. 

After researching hard disks for several 
months, our ultimate reason for going with 
Corvus was that the finance company we 
use for our computer deals said it was the 
only brand it wanted to finance because 
it was the only one with a reasonable ser- 
vice record. After five firmware and hard- 
ware crashes. 1 wish I knew then what 1 
know now. 

More distressing than having to baby the 
beast has been the response of Corvus 
itself. Our first crash was due to a bug in 
Corvus's firmware. I got on the phone with 
Corvus's technical people, who told me 
they knew about the problem and how to 
fix it. The strange part was that they also 
told me they hadn't bothered to notify 
dealers or users about the problem. Cor- 
vus has also failed to answer my letters 
asking to buy documentation {including a 
manual for multiusers, which an insert in 
the original users manual two years ago 
promised would be mailed to me Real 
Soon Now). 

Among our other problems was a 
burned-out main drive bearing, which, 
luckily, failed just before the warranty ran 
out. There was one service technician in 
all of Colorado who seemed to know 
something about the drive, but his shop 
went under and the new local Corvus con- 
tact told me they're not interested in 
spending much time with them unless 
we're ready to spend big bucks on more 
hardware. They did tell us all our problems 
were because the Rev B was a lousy prod- 
uct and if we'd just junk it and buy all the 
latest Corvus stuff, our problems would 
go away. 

My computer responsibilities are with a 
small business, using Apples and wanting 
to get bigger. But it's the old story of hav- 
ing to live with an investment after so 
many bucks went into it. We'd like to get 
a real network in here and more disk 



space, but I'm sure not going to trust 
Omninet after our experiences with our 
first Corvus product. I've done a fair 
amount of documentation myself, have 
the thing interfaced with ProDOS now, and 
managed to get around some of the limits 
Corvus built into the thing when it imple- 
mented it under DOS 3.3. 

I thought you might be interested. 1 en- 
joy reading you, even when 1 disagree with 
you. 

Glenn Holliday 
Denver, CO 

Alas, Rev B was a dog, as was Rev A. 
Corvus has got most of its problems fixed 
now, or so I am told. The one we have 
is scheduled for a pack of revisions; I'll 
do a full report when it's done. 

I do wish Corvus well. The company 
has some good troops and good ideas, 
and its people are trying hard: unlike 
most of their competitors, they're trying 
to network everything, not just the big- 
gies. We hear good things about their 
networks— Jerry 

NEC PC-8201A 

Dear Jerry 

Recently I purchased an NEC PC-8201 A 
lap-size portable computer, partly 
because you had nice things to say about 
it and partly because I couldn't resist the 
sale price. In general, I've been quite 
pleased with it (although III need to add 
more memory before I'll be really happy). 
1 also own a Kaypro 2, and 1 have been 
using Mycroft Labs' MITE communications 
package along with the Telcom program 
in the NEC to transmit text files between 
the two. However, according to the way I 
read the NEC manuals, it should be possi- 
ble to use the NEC SAVE < filename > as 
COM: command to transmit files from the 
NEC through the RS-232C port to the 
Kaypro. This feature would be potentially 
useful in saving BASIC programs from the 
NEC to the Kaypro's disk drives. The useful 
feature is that the NEC tries to convert a 
BASIC file (.BA) from internal format to 
ASCII format as it transmits. Thus, using 
the SAVE command would prevent you 
from having to first save a BASIC program 
in ASCII format on the NEC and then call- 



ing up Telcom to send it to the Kaypro. 

Unfortunately, the SAVE command does 
not work very well in my setup. I have both 
computers set to agree on communica- 
tions protocol and whatnot, but when I 
save a text file to the RS-232C port on the 
NEC, the Kaypro gets only about half a 
screen and then gets hung up. When I try 
this procedure with a .BA file, the same 
thing happens, but the Kaypro drops a few 
characters as well (notably line numbers). 
This seems to happen regardless of how 
low I set the transmission rate. I was 
wondering if you have tried the NEC SAVE 
command to send things out the commu- 
nications port to a Kaypro or other 
computer. 

The NEC Telcom program has worked 
fine for my setup (as long as one is aware 
that because of the Kaypro's software 
screen scrolling, any communication that 
echoes to the screen has to be no faster 
than 1 200 bps for the scrolling to keep up 
and no characters to be lost). At any rate, 
I would like to hear about any experience 
you have had with the SAVE command. 
Thanks. 

Mark E. Cornell 
Tbcson, AZ 

I've never used the SAVE command, in- 
deed, I only use Percy, my NEC 
PC-8201 A, as a lapboard typewriter 
when I'm on aircraft. When I get to my 
hotel, I use Telcom and the PIP command 
to send the resulting text to Adeline, my 
Otrona Attache; or when I get home, I 
use Telcom to send the text to my Com- 
puPro 8/16. Both work perfectly at 9600 
bps. 

I've tried this with the Kaypro 10 and 
it all works fine at 9600 bps; just don't 
echo to the screen. Use PIP to collect the 
files onto the Kaypro. Alas, I think you 
have no choice but to save your pro- 
grams in ASCII and use Telcom. 

I still like Percy a lot. So does Mrs. 
Pournelle. —Jerry 

Copy Protection 

Dear Jerry, 

I can empathize with your gripes about 
copy-protected source disks. I had such a 

(continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 359 



CHAOS MANOR MAIL 



utility disk self-destruct on me six months 
ago. I have no children or animals under- 
foot and am reasonably fastidious about 
disk care. Even with the best-laid plans, 
part of the copy-protection scheme is an 
(usually abortive) attempt to reformat the 
disk. Fair enough, except when the switch 
on your drive slips slightly and the under- 
side of the write-protect flap caves in just 
enough, leaving you with a rather expen- 
sive blank disk. In defense of the manu- 
facturer, the program is very reasonably 
priced, does exactly what it claims, and 
one backup disk is available to registered 
owners at a reduced price. I was still rather 
miffed at having my disk destroyed 
through no real fault of my own. 

The distributor was no help (buy the 
backup— but what if that one goes?). I 
began snooping around in my DOS and 
discovered the nature of the copy protec- 
tion, where certain information is returned 
to the DOS buffers with certain types of 
read errors. 1 then wrote a couple of 
utilities to read and write these irregular 
formats track by track. 1 now have backups 
for my own use that in a better world 1 
should have had in the first place. I'm no 
real pirating threat, since 1 don't know 
anyone who can use this program who 
doesn't have it already (an essential part 
of my system is no longer manufactured), 
yet these copies are not entirely on the 
up-and-up (maybe one, since 1 paid for 
one). Serial numbers are a good idea, but 
the numbers on this package are not hid- 
den very well even though the code itself 
is gibberish. 

I don't know if an equitable and sensi- 
ble solution is on the horizon. Just look 
at what a mess "fair use" turned out to 
be when certain publishers decided to 
play hardball with photocopying. Inflating 
software costs to anticipate piracy could 
easily price some packages out of the 
market. Improved copy protection is just 
more of a challenge in the escalating war 
of copy-protection/subversion schemes. ! 
agree that cheap, reliable software usual- 
ly isn't worth trying to steal, but 1 don't 
think we'll be flooded with exemplars any- 
time soon. 

Lawrence L. Crawford 
Philadelphia, PA 

Another good letter on copy protec- 
tion. The issue is not going away.— jerry 

The Users Strike Back 

Dear Jerry, 

The time has come for the computer 
users of the world to unite and to make 



the following declaration to the software 
suppliers of the world. 

Dear Software Supplier/Copy Protector: 

1 understand that you perceive the un- 
authorized and illegal copying of your 
software to be a huge and critical prob- 
lem. There are many people who criticize 
your position and logic, but that is neither 
here nor there To you, this copying is seen 
as a problem, and 1 doubt that any argu- 
ments or evidence will change your mind. 
So 1 am not writing you about piracy, its 
economic effects, or any of this. Instead, 
I ask you to consider for a moment the 
forgotten person in this debate, the or- 
dinary user. 

The means you have chosen to solve 
this problem of illegal copying, copy pro- 
tection, are completely inappropriate from 
the viewpoint of the user of your software. 
You should be able to recognize this with- 
out long and tedious argument; you 
should be able to recognize that you owe 
everything to the user, that you owe to the 
user the duty of utmost care, that you are 
a trustee of the user's information needs. 
You should, in short, be able to recognize 
the tremendous responsibility you have 
toward the user. 

But you don't. Instead, you treat the user 
with the utmost contempt and disrespect. 
You deliver unintelligible manuals, full of 
jargon and convoluted syntax, when you 
should be trying desperately to commu- 
nicate clearly. You disclaim all legal 
responsibility for the correctness of your 
software; you spend millions in advertis- 
ing and then refuse to even commit your- 
self to the proper working of your product. 

But you show your greatest contempt by 
instituting copy-protection schemes, which 
create new dangers for those who have 
so foolishly placed their trust in your abili- 
ty to help them. No copy-protection 
scheme will ever help any user, and usual- 
ly the scheme will only serve to injure and 
frustrate the user. Are the concepts of 
pride and professionalism really so foreign 
to you? 

Maybe you are protected by these 
schemes; but they serve me poorly. Can't 
you see that your duty is to me, your 
customer, instead of to your perception 
of your own injury? You can't balance the 
perceived cost to yourself against the in- 
jury to me and then say your interest is 
the greater and should prevail; you are 
morally responsible to consider and pro- 
tect my own information welfare, and I de- 
mand that you attend to this duty 

Maybe your product is truly wonderful, 
but 1 am not interested in any copy- 



protected software, no matter how won- 
derful. I can see that your only interest is 
what you can get from me and not what 
you can do for me. So I will avoid your 
product. I will not buy it, so you will not 
have my money. More important, I will not 
use it, so you will not have my trust and 
respect; for these are what 1 give when 1 
use a piece of software. Needless to say, 
1 will not waste my time trying to copy a 
piece of software that I am committed not 
to use. 1 will advise everyone 1 know to do 
the same. I will choose my software ven- 
dors as I do my friends, my physician, and 
my attorney. And I will hold you in the 
same contempt as you, perhaps unknow- 
ingly, hold me. 

Should you learn to temper your greed 
with wisdom, let me know. I'm always 
ready to make a new friend. 

Sincerely, 

Software User 

Boycott is the only effective answer to 
this problem. The vendors will somehow 
have to be coerced into being fair and 
reasonable, since they have no inclination 
to take this step on their own. 

Edmund B. Burke 
Atlanta, GA 

Maybe yours is the only way Alas, com- 
puter users are not all that well or- 
ganized. Still, a few thousand such let- 
ters. . —Jerry 

A Fantasy? 

Dear Jerry, 

A while back, 1 was part of a commer- 
cial programming effort. The question of 
copy protection came up. We came to the 
following conclusions: 

If customers cannot back it up, then: 
We would have to maintain full 
customer records; We would have 
a higher number of disks returned 
because the disk needed very ac- 
curate drive-speed adjustment; It 
would involve another entire job/ 
position/department; It would have 
to be a nonprofit endeavor. 

All locks can be picked. 

The only people we had to stop 
could copy and sell it anyway; If 
they give away only one to three 
copies, we still have a large number 
of paying clients (free advertising, 
too!). 

We would either have to: 

Write the lock ourselves (time = $); 

Hire someone to write it (ditto); Pay 

{continued) 



360 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1 98 S 



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Inquiry 327 



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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 361 



CHAOS MANOR MAIL 



a higher duplication cost. 
We would find ourselves with a large 
custom-programming job: 

Patches to fit/use ail printers; 
Patches for all 80-column (Apple) 
cards; Patches for several disk oper- 
ating systems. 
The market would be more than halved 
because it would not fit many specific 
systems (hardware). 
The market would be reduced further 
because it could not fit into a menu- 
driven, userproof, black box with 
many functions. 
It would please the programmer 
because no one would see the faults. 
But then he had already been paid. 
1 would not have bought it because 1 
think programs should be unlocked; 
people lend/borrow your books don't 
they? 

At this point we ended the discussion 
and sold it unprotected. 

William M. Reed 
New Orleans, LA 

I wish all the publishers would come to 
the same conclusion.— Jerry 

Ethics 

Dear Jerry, 

Re your September 1984 column on 
Tom Tcimpidis and his RCBS being busted 
at the behest of one of Ma Bell's offspring: 

Of course, it's always the little guy who 
gets hung out to dry This same sort of 
stuff must certainly go on (even if only on 
a one-on-one basis) via CompuServe and 
The Source. Can you imagine how many 
lawyers the Reader's Digest, Control Data 
Corp., and H & R Block would have bar- 
ring the doorway if a phone company 
tried to impound the computers at their 
two subsidiaries? 

You seemed to think that your super- 
market analogy was a bit off-the-wall, but 
if you've ever read the tortured logic and 
mind-boggling conclusions that some 
judges hand down every day, you wouldn't 
be quite so quick to dismiss the idea. Some 
more hypothetical cases: 

The Washington Post runs a car dealer's ad. 
I respond, get bait-and-switched, and buy 
a lemon from him. Can i impound the Post 
presses? What if the Post had received 
previous complaints about the dealer? 
Even if the Post later yanked the ad, the 
damage is done. It seems to me that the 
argument for joint tort-feasance is just as 
strong here as it is in Tcimpidis's case. 

If I get ripped off by a con-artist adver- 



tisement, can 1 have the magazine's Sec- 
ond Class Postage permit yanked? 

Suppose you print in your column 
(notice how we're getting closer and closer 
to home?) my casual comment to you that 
"the Bytecrunch-99 computer stinks," 
along with my name and address. Some 
irate Bytecrunch-99 owner firebombs my 
house. Can I send your local sheriff over 
to impound your 32 computers? 

As a "reader service," I print your phone 
number in our Eagle users group newslet- 
ter, with the suggestion that you can be 
reached between the hours of 2-4 a.m. 
PST Is your unpublished phone number 
"owned" by you and/or Ma Bell? 

Regarding your comments (same col- 
umn) that electronic bulletin boards 
publish ways to defeat copy-protection 
schemes— there's an obvious connection 
here to the Tcimpidis case. If Tcimpidis is 
guilty of some crime, then what do we do 
about those who publish these other 
hacker goodies? Or are they safe because 
they only published ways to defeat copy- 
protection schemes and not the pro- 
prietary information itself? 

How ethical is it to hit a buyer for one 
or two weeks' take-home pay for a copy- 
protected program? While awaiting a 
replacement for the program disk you ac- 
cidentally trashed, you make the next 
VISA payment on a worthless disk and 
loose-leaf binder, the project deadline has 
come and gone, and you've lost bucks, 
grades, or a job. What are the ethics of 
arrogant licensing agreements, hyped 
product descriptions with product dis- 
claimers packed inside the box. refusal to 
fix bugs, user nonsupport, and other prob- 
lems you've talked about? 

Yes, ! read program reviews by the buc- 
ketful. My eyes glaze over and skip to the 
next product review as soon as they en- 
counter the phrase "copy-protected." I ab- 
solutely refuse to buy copy-protected pro- 
grams. But let's be realistic— what percent- 
age of home computer software produced 
today gets a thorough magazine review so 
you can be forewarned? And how many 
interested buyers are going to dig up, say 
a March 1983 BYTE to see what you said 
about their intended purchase? What 
makes it really bad is that fighting a bat- 
tle against copy-protected programs can 
be heartbreaking when you have to pass 
up an otherwise luscious piece of soft- 
ware. There's got to be a better way. 

John Mazor 
Clinton, MD 

Yeah. 1 get so coldly furious about the 
Tcimpidis situation that I'm tempted to 



cry havoc. One thing 1 note that Pacific 
Telephone has done: by acting as its peo- 
ple have, they've opened what ought to 
have been a closed ethical debate, thus 
causing a lot of bright kids to seriously 
consider becoming phone phreaks. 

It is statistically improbable that the 
forbidden phone codes have not been 
sent through The Source and Compu- 
Serve; equal justice demands that Ma 
Bell try to confiscate their equipment. 
Perhaps they're not so eager to take on 
the Reader's Digest? 

As to copy protection; 1 don't know the 
answer. One of my readers counsels me 
to let loose the demons"; that is, any 
copy-protection scheme can be defeated, 
usually by a program called a demon'' 
that sits in high memory watches what 
the copy-protection scheme does, and 
then begins to do it. My reader wants me 
to publish the source and installation pro- 
cedures for various demons. 

A number of them are already avail- 
able on computer bulletin boards. I'm 
thinking what to do.— Jerry 

The Truth About Alex 

Dear Jerry, 

A friend of mine and his wife are taking 
a systems course at UCSD. As part of this 
course they develop software in C on the 
UNIX system there. While browsing 
through the system after a long night of 
programming, my friend's wife came 
across an adventure game As any self- 
respecting hacker would do, she began 
playing the game. At the end of the game, 
after being killed several times, the pro- 
gram listed the top ten players. It turns out 
your son has more talents besides the 
business end of computer systems. His 
name was at the top of the list. 

Andrew H. Bushnell 
San Diego, CA 

So that's what he's doing down there! 
I understand the game was Rogue. Alas. 
—Jerry ■ 



Users Group Corner 

Midwest Connection (NEC systems) 

6200 Prince Dr. 

High Ridge, MO 63049 

North Orange County Computer 

Club 
POB 3616 
Orange, CA 92665-0616 



362 BYTE' FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 219 — ► 



Engineering 
Excellence 




1EED 






■ ■ ■ » 9my w •* n fg 




V 




Data ^ommukmcation§ 

SoPTWACEs. 



MICROSTUF 



CROSSTALK IS A TRADEMARK OF 
MICROSTUF. INC.. ATLANTA. GEORGIA 



\LK IS AVAILABLE FC 
1ALL BUSINESS 

ERS 




Any modem can send 
and receive information. 

But what good is a modem if 
you can't communicate with it? 

In plain English. 

The Maxwell Modems and 
George;™ our communications 
software, let you do just that 

In fact, learning to use them 
is as easy as reading a menu. 
Instead of a manual. 

All the features make sense. 



Like auto-dialing directories. 
Automatic log-on. Auto-answer 
Automatic error-checking. 
And complete unattended 
operation. Which means you 
can send and receive files late 
at night when the phone rates 
are lower. And you're asleep. 
Plus, with single keystroke 
dialing, you can call a database 
faster than you can say Racal- 
Vadic. While the handy mes- 



FINALLY, A 

MODEM YOU CAN 

COMMUNICATE 

WITH. 



sage editor makes jotting a 
quick message justthat Quick. 

The Maxwell Modems are 
available in two versions, inter- 
nal* or desktop. And, now, in 
three different speeds. 300, 
1200 or 2400 bits-per-second 
So there's bound to be one 
just right for you. And your 
personal computer. 

Best of all, they're from 



Racal-Vadic -the world's 
leading supplier of switched- 
network modems. The kind 
of modems data networks use 
to take calls from modems 
like yours. 

Just as soon as you get one. 

And the easiest way to do 
that is to call 800-4-VADICS 
for the name of the Maxwell 
Modem dealer nearest you. 




From Racal-Vadic 



"■•The Maxwell Modem and George are trademarks of Racal-Vadic. 'Internal modems for IBM " PC, XT and compatibles. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp.© 1984, Racal-Vadic 

FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 365 



Viasyn (vl uh sin) n. [L., via, a 
way or road ; Gr., syn, together or 
integrated], formerly CompuPro. 
1. n. a twelve year old manufac- 
turer of microprocessor systems, 
subsystems and components, 
notably multi-user computers 
used in business, science and 
industry. 2. adj. related to 
Viasyn, formerly CompuPro, qual- 
ity, i.e., possessing extraordi- 
nary reliability, performance, 
modularity and ruggedness. See 
CompuPro (previous name). 



v/asvti 



3506 Breakwater Court 

Hayward, California 94545 

(800) 367-7816 (Outside California) 

(415) 786-0909 (California) 



Viasyn is a trademark, and CompuPro is a registered trademark, of Viasyn Corporation. 
366 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 Inquiry 353 




BYTE JAPAN 



Important 

peripherals 

from the 1984 

Data Show 



by William M. Raike 



William M. Raike, who holds a 

Ph.D. in applied mathematics from 

Northwestern University, has taught 

operations research and computer 

science in Austin. Texas, and 

Monterey, California, He holds a 

patent on a voice scrambler and was 

formerly an officer of Cryptext 



Disks and Printers 



urwmm i h Btt MM smia. ih 

1980. he went to japan looking for 

64K-M KAm.-He-has-tMm-thw 

ever since as a technical translator 

and a software developer. 



The 1984 Data Show was held from 
September 26 to 29 at the Interna- 
tional TVade Center Exhibition Site 
at Harumi, near the Tbkyo waterfront. The 
fastest way to get there is by ferryboat; a 
pleasant 5-minute ride replaces the usual 
1 5-minute taxi or bus trip through some of 
the least impressive neighborhoods in 
Tbkyo. In this case the boat trip was one 
of the more interesting events of the after- 
noon; the show itself was only so-so in 
terms of noteworthy new computer prod- 
ucts. The most important exhibits at this 
show were peripheral devices, especially 
optical disks and laser printers. 

One of the high points of the show was 
Hitachi's OC-30I optical-disk cartridge 
system, which looks like a practical solution 
to on-line storage requirements for large 
databases. You can put 2.6 gigabytes on 
one double-sided disk and still have room 
left over. The disks look like ordinary video- 
discs. While a disk spins at 600 rpm (revolu- 
tions per minute) within its cartridge, micro- 
scopic pits are laser-scanned to read the 
data. Data can also be written in random- 
access mode to any track and any sector 
"on the disk. 

According to Hitachi, the maximum data- 
transfer rate is 440K bits per second; this 
limitation is apparently due to the drive 
itself, since the built-in controller/formatter 
is capable of more than twice that rate. The 
disk is organized into over 40,000 tracks per 
side (both single- and double-sided car- 
tridges are available), but the average seek 
time is only 200 milliseconds. That means 
that it takes less than Va second, on the 
average, to access any part of a 2.6-gigabyte 
disk, and a single controller can handle up 
to four disks. No information about prices 
of either the cartridges or the optical-disk 
drive was available during the show, but the 
system is now avail able to OEMs (original 
equipment manufacturers). It will probably 
be adopted first by minicomputer vendors, 



but the supermicro market won't be far 
behind. 



Hitachi floppy-disk drives were featured 
earlier in BYTE Japan (see "Show Time," 
September 1984, page 407) when I re- 
ported on the 9.6-megabyte 8-inch floppy- 
disk drive that was announced at the Tbkyo 
Microcomputer Show. After that announce- 
ment, it seemed almost anticlimactic when 
Hitachi displayed its 6.5-megabyte 5i4-inch 
FDD 541 floppy-disk drive at this Data Show. 
Even though the new DK 512 (see photo 1), 
a 171-megabyte 5-inch hard-disk drive, was 
displayed right next to it, the new floppy- 
disk drive stole the show: its data-transfer 
rate is 3 million bits per second. That's more 
than twice as fast as the transfer rates of 
most hard-disk drives and means really fast 
access, even for big files. Right now the 
FDD541 (and the DK 512) are available to 
OEMs, but it won't be long until we see con- 
sumer products that use them. 

For people who want something in be- 
tween the sizes of the new optical-disk and 
floppy-disk systems, Hitachi also displayed 
a compact 8-inch hard-disk drive. The DK 
815 holds 525 megabytes unformatted (435 
megabytes formatted), and two of them will 
fit into a standard 19-inch equipment rack. 

Printers were very much in the spotlight 
at the show, among them laser printers by 
Canon. Fuji Xerox, Konica, and TEC (TEC 
printers are marketed in the U.S. by the 
C. Itoh trading company.) All four laser 
printers have similar characteristics: they 
print with very high resolution (typically 
about 300 dots per inch), offer a large varie- 
ty of character fonts with sharp, magazine- 
quality printing, and have printing speeds 
in the 8- to 10-page-per-minute range. All 
are tabletop machines. Some models have 
RS-232C serial interfaces, while others re- 
quire a special video interface. Although no 
prices were available as of this writing, it 
looks as if laser printers will eventually 
become standard for high-quality word- 
processing and office applications. 

Laser printers use the same principle as 
an electrostatic copying machine. A drum 

{continued) 






FEBRUARY 1985 • B Y T E 367 



BYTE JAPAN 



Conventional 



printers are getting 
better and cheaper 



coated with a material like selenium 
is given a static charge. When light (in 
this case, laser light) touches the 
drum, the drum material becomes 
conductive and the charge leaks away 
from the area exposed to light. A dark 
powder (the toner) charged with the 
same polarity is then applied to the 
drum; since like charges repel, the 
toner adheres only to the parts of the 
drum that were exposed to the light. 
The laser beam itself is extremely nar- 
row and is bounced off a multifaceted 
(typically 8 or 12 facets) spinning mir- 
ror, so that the beam sweeps across 
the surface of the drum as the mirror 



spins. Regulation of the mirror- 
rotation speed is simplified because 
the beam can be synchronized using 
a simple photodetector arrangement. 
The beam is simply turned on and off 
to form the desired image, much the 
same as the electron gun in a 
cathode-ray-tube screen. No "vertical 
deflection" of the beam is necessary 
because of the rotation of the 
selenium drum. 

The Casio LCD (liquid-crystal dis- 
play) shutter printer I mentioned in 
last month's BYTE Japan ("The New 
and the Old," page 429), the 
LCS-2400, uses a similar principle, ex- 
cept that the laser and the scanning 
mechanism are replaced by a simpler 
combination of a light source and a 
liquid-crystal shutter to expose the 
image on the drum. Casio has an- 
nounced a Japanese price for the 
printer equivalent to $1650. 

Conventional printers, both the dot- 



matrix type and the daisy-wheel type, 
are getting better and cheaper. A 
number of 18-dot and 24-dot near- 
letter-quality (or better) printers have 
been on the market for some time, at 
prices ranging from $800 to $1000, 
for both Japanese-language word-pro- 
cessing and graphics applications. 
Now TEC has introduced the Ml 570, 
which prints kanji characters using a 
24-dot font and letter-quality alpha- 
numeric characters using an 18-dot 
font. In draft mode it produces near 
letter-quality printing at 200 charac- 
ters per second (cps) and has a four- 
color ribbon so that it can produce 
graphics and/or characters in any of 
seven colors. 

Citizen, better known for its elec- 
tronic wristwatches, is a newcomer to 
the computer peripheral-equipment 
market. Citizen's new MSP- 1 OK printer 
(see photo 2) is an 18-dot, 2 1-cps kanji 
printer and near letter-quality alpha- 



e Most Affordable Disk Mak 




*# in the Universe 

» Mnui with nuor 95 MQRflQ fnrmotc 31A>" fnrn 



Now with over 25 MSDOS formats, 3V2" formats, 
IBM PCAT and word processing format options 




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The more disk formats you work with, the more our 
Disk Maker 1 M system saves time and money by reading 
and/or writing disks in any of over 200 formats. No mo- 
dems, no patches, no other special software necessary. 

Disk Maker II is a complete, stand alone system with 
one 8" DSDD disk drive, one 48 tpi 5 'A" DSDD disk 
drive, 6 MHZ Z80B, 64K CP/M system with Disk 
Maker' M software, (96 tpi and second 8" drive option- 
al.) Just plug in your terminal and make disks' Bundled 
software includes MicroShell™/MCALL-ll communica- 
tions software. Base price: $3,395. 



Supported with comprehensive, easy-to-read manual, 
software updates ($50.00, all formats in revision), and 
additional drives and hard disk options 

Disk Maker" 
prices from 

$1,695 



Disk Maker I runs as a peripheral with an S-100 system 
and comes with S-100 controller board, one 48 tpi 
DSDD 5%" disk drive, dual drive cabinet and power 
supply, cables and Disk Maker software. 96 tpi and 8" 
drives are optional. Base price: $1,695. 

[ New ~] 

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(7031 471-5SSB 0rde< Line |S00) 368-3359 

Deaier inquiries welcomed 



368 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 233 



BYTE IAPAN 



numeric printer that prints in draft 
mode at 160 cps. It will retail for about 
$520. 

1\vo low-speed, relatively low-cost 
daisy-wheel printers are worth men- 
tioning. C Itoh is selling its Y-10 daisy- 
wheel printer, which weighs only 17 
pounds, at a list price of only about 
$52 5. It has a cassette-interface fea- 
ture that lets you change between 
serial and parallel interfaces; you 
swap print wheels using a "slide-in- 
and-snap" loading method. The other 
printer is an original-equipment 
model that's sold here in Japan as the 
Aurora 650, You can buy one for only 
about $360, discounted, which is just 
about the best deal I've seen. It uses 
a film-type ribbon cartridge and prints 
clearly and evenly at 13 cps. It in- 
cludes built-in parallel and RS-232C 
serial interfaces. 



New Toshiba MSX 
Computer Can Communicate 

In the December 1984 BYTE Japan I 
discussed the MSX computer phe- 
nomenon. MSX is the name of a set 

of standards, developed by Microsoft 
Corporation, for low-cost computers 
based on Z80 or equivalent micropro- 
cessors that have Microsoft BASIC in 
ROM (read-only memory). About two 
dozen models of MSX computers are 
available in Japan from all the major 
Japanese computer manufacturers. 







Until now they have been sold almost 
exclusively for playing video games. 
Prices generally range from about 
$200, or even less, up to about $400 
for models with 64 K bytes of RAM 
(random-access read/write memory). 
In addition to built-in sound genera- 
tors and joystick interfaces, MSX 
machines all have one or more slots 
that can accept standardized 
RAM/ROM cartridges. Hundreds of 
game cartridges are available; most 
sell for about $10 to $20. 

There is little MSX software for any 
purpose other than entertainment, 
and with the computer-game market 
quickly becoming saturated, the MSX 
phenomenon here has been more of 
a curiosity than a force for steady 
growth. 

All of that may change soon, how- 
ever. I had a chance to try out 
Toshiba's newest MSX machine, the 
HX-22. the other day Due to be 
released in about a week, it's a 64K- 
byte computer that has a list price of 
only about $360, is supplied with 
useful Japanese-language word-pro- 
cessing software, and includes a stan- 
dard RS-232C serial interface and ter- 
minal software. A SOOK-byte Vh- inch 
floppy-disk drive is optional, sup- 
ported by the MSX-DOS operating 
system. (See the December 1984 
BYTE Japan, "Hand-held Computers 
and MSX Standards," page 365.) The 
standard display is only 40 characters 



wide, but an inexpensive 80-column 
adapter will be available soon. 

The HX-22's serial interface, which 
can operate at speeds up to 19,200 
bits per second, may cause major 
changes in the low-priced computer 
market in Japan. Until now, personal 
computer users here have lagged 
behind their American counterparts 
in terms of communication services 
like bulletin boards, conferencing 
systems, and wide-ranging informa- 
tion services like The Source and 
CompuServe. Although The Source is 
available in lapan, there aren't yet any 
widely available analogous Japanese 
services. My guess is that the in- 
troduction of the HX-22 (and its in- 
evitable competitors) will be a power- 
ful stimulus for people to start devel- 
oping them. Also, because the HX-22 
includes a sizable Japanese-language 
(kanji) character set in ROM, the road 
is now open for developing informa- 
tion and communication services in 
the Japanese language, which is an 
absolute necessity for acceptance of 
this kind of technology by the 
Japenese general public. 

The market for MSX machines is 
fiercely competitive, and other major 
producers like Sony, Canon, Pioneer, 
and Mitsubishi are certain to intro- 
duce their own versions of MSX ma- 
chines with communications and kanji 
display capabilities; prices in the $275 

[continued) 



Photo I: The 6.5-rnegabyte floppy-disk 
drive from Hitachi. 




Photo 2: Am inexpensive (about $520) 18-dot kanji printer from Citizen. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 369 



Inquiry 357 



POSTURE SUPPORT 

9.9 



«#.? THE BACK CHAIR 




The First "Intelligent Chair, FORMERLY $89.95! New on sale 
from $29.95. REDUCE THE EFFECT OF GRAVITY ON YOUR BACK 

Sitting regularly in a conventional chair your lower back is sup- 
porting the TOTAL WEIGHT of your body plus additional weight due 
to the downward effect of gravity Unfortunately most chairs are de- 
signed tor appearance, not for comfort. 

THE BACK CHAIR SOLUTiON— Sitting on the Back Chair re- 
lieves your back from supporting the total weight of your body by 
distributing your weight between your lower back and legs. >bur legs 
support you when standing, your lower back supports you when sitting. 
Combine them both in a comfortable sitting posture and you relieve 
the unnecessary stress on your back When sitting on the Back 
Chair you'd feel more relaxed and sit up perfectly straight 

Standard Chair made of hardwood layers with final layer of 
Genuine Oak Adjustable Chair made from solid hardwood with Oak 
Finish. Both come with padded seat and knee pads upholstered 
in Chocolate Brown. 




SHOP FASTER BY PHONE 
1 -805-966-7187 

Or send a check or your credit card H (Diner's Club, VtSA, MasterCard, American 
Express) for THE BACK CHAIR (Standard Model, $29.95 ea; Adjustable Model, 
$49.95 ea— please indicate below) plus $9.95 shipping (Canadian orders, $13.00 
shipping). CA residents add 6% sales tax. Sorry no C.O.D, If not satisfied re- 
turn within 15 days for refund (less shipping). 



ITEM NO. 


QUAN. 


ITEM 


PRICE EA. SHIPPING 


TOTAL 


825 




Stan, BACK CHAIR 


$29.95 






808 




Adj. BACK CHAIR 


$49.95 







S1&RSHINEGROUP 

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BYTE JAPAN 



to $300 range wouldn't surprise me 
at all. Toshiba claims it has no plans 
yet to market the HX-22 in the U.S. 
because of the lack of an appropriate 
distribution system, but those kinds of 
plans have a way of changing quickly 
when the company perceives a 
demand. 

Innovations 

Especially in the last few years, inte- 
grated-circuit designs have been mov- 
ing more and more toward CMOS 
(complementary metal-oxide semi- 
conductor) technology The biggest 
advantage CMOS has to offer is its 
very low power consumption. Al- 
though the speeds of CMOS inte- 
grated circuits have been increasing, 
they generally can't match the speeds 
obtainable with the older bipolar 
technology. Hitachi has just an- 
nounced that it has come up with a 
way to combine both bipolar and 
CMOS elements on the same chip 
and claims that a gate array based on 
the new process has a gate delay, or 
operating speed, of only 0.8 nanosec- 
ond. That's comparable to the fastest 
ECL (emitter-coupled logic) chips. Its 
power consumption is only about 0.1 5 
milliwatt per gate, similar to CMOS. 
Optical-disk technology is moving 
fast, too. Sony has just developed a 
magneto-optical-disk system for 
delivery to the Japanese international 
telephone company this month. The 
significance of the Sony development 
is that the disks are erasable, in con- 
trast to other optical-disk systems like 
the one Hitachi introduced at the 
Data Show. The capacity of the disk 
is I gigabyte, and a single controller 
can handle up to four disk drives. No 
information about the speed of the 
new system was available, and so far 
Sony hasn't announced that it will 
market the system commercially. 

Coming Up 

Next month I'll cover the IBM JX, 
WordStar 2000, the new Toshiba 
1 -megabit RAM chip, and the grow- 
ing popularity of UNIX in Japan, and 
I'll compare the Japanese PC-9801F3 
personal computer with the NEC 
APC-III. ■ 



370 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 77 




BYTE WEST COAST 



WAflt Next? 



Thunderscan, 
the ins and 



workstations, 



by John Markoff, 
Phillip Robinson, 
and Ezra Shapiro 



Apple Computer's president John 
Sculley, has a habit of publicly 
referring to Macintosh graphics as 
"super graphics." However, although the 
OlltS Oi the Mac may be impressive when compared to 

1 — -j 1 the Apple II and the IBM PC, we've always 

WinClOWing been a little irritated by the super-graphics 
claim. Shouldn't the superlatives be re- 
game, neW served for the new generation of personal 
computers with 1024- by 1024-pixel (picture 
element) bit-mapped screens and hardware 
3nH mOrG coprocessing support for animation and 
other sophisticated graphics operations? By 
those standards, the Mac seems primitive 
indeed. 

Yet, over the course of the past few 
months, as new applications have been in- 
troduced, the Macintosh has proven to be 
consistently surprising in the quality of its 
graphics. Despite its relatively low number 
of pixels, the Macintosh display is crisp, 
partly because of its small screen size. 



Thunderscan 

Recently, a demonstration given to us by 
Macintosh designer Andy Hertzfeld and 
Tbm Petrie of Thunderware provided con- 
vincing evidence that if Macintosh graphics 
aren't "super," they're at least a clear step 
above anything else currently available in 
that price range. 

Thunderware, previously known as a 
manufacturer of clocks for the Apple II and 
III, drew a lot of attention when its new Mac- 
intosh product, Thunderscan, was intro- 
duced at this year's National Computer 
Conference. Thunderscan is a high-resolu- 
tion digitizer that enables the Macintosh to 
capture and later reprocess virtually any im- 
age that can be rolled under the platen of 
the Apple Imagewriter dot-matrix printer. 
The process is deceptively simple. Thunder- 
scan consists of a palm-size optical sensor 
that snaps into the Imagewriter in place of 
the ribbon cartridge. When a document or 
picture is rolled through the printer, soft- 
ware written by Hertzfeld controls the sen- 
sor as it slides back and forth over an image. 



BYTE West Coast is presented 

monthly by BYTE's editors and staff 

in San Francisco and Palo Alto. 

Correspondence should be addressed 

to BYTE West Coast, BYTE 

Magazine, 425 Battery St., San 

Francisco. CA 94111. 



Petrie says that Thunderware is sensitive 
about discussing the exact nature of the 
scanning technology used in the device. 
However, he will say that the scanner is able 
to extract analog information from the im- 
age and transmit it to one of the Macintosh 
serial ports without having to use traditional 
A/D (analog-to-digital) conversion tech- 
niques. 

It's an intriguing process. For example, it's 
possible to increase the resolution of the 
image being scanned by increasing the 
scanning rate. The result of the proprietary 
technology is a low-cost scanning device 
(initially $229) that permits the Macintosh 
to store and manipulate images with a res- 
olution in excess of 200 dots per inch. 

According to Petriethere are a number of 
difficulties in getting graphics images into 
the Macintosh. The greatest problem is that 
high-resolution graphic images require a 
relatively large bit map. Until now, the only 
way of stuffing this information into the Mac 
has been to use a video camera, and video 
cameras are relatively high cost and low res- 
olution. (At the same time, it should be 
noted that cameras have the advantage of 
being fast. Because essentially only one row 
of pixels is scanned at a time, it takes Thun- 
derscan as long as 1 5 minutes to digitize 
an entire 8 l A- by 11-inch document.) 

Once Thunderscan has transmitted an 
image to the Macintosh, software designed 
by programmer Hertzfeld (who has left 
Apple and is now working on his own) can 
do a remarkable job of enhancing or ma- 
nipulating it. Not only can you rescale im- 
ages, you can also alter brightness and con- 
trast to create halftones or high-contrast 
images (see figure I). Additionally the Thun- 
derscan software contains a number of 
graphics tools familiar to those who have 
used the MacPaint program on the Mac. 
There is also a special "express" option that 
lets you go directly to MacPaint to further 
enhance an image. 

The Thunderscan software operates on a 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 371 



BYTE WEST COAST 



bit map that is stored in the Mac- 
intosh RAM (random-access read/write 
memory). The bit map has a size limit 
of 48K bytes on the 128K-byte 
machine. This is just about a full page 
at 72 dots per inch. On the 5I2K-byte 
Macintosh, a bit map as large as 300K 
bytes can be stored. With this amount 
of information you can store a full 8/2- 
by 11-inch document at up to a 300 
percent magnification. You can use this 
expanded storage space for image en- 
largement or to extract gray-scale in- 
formation on up to 64 levels of inten- 
sity. On the 128K-byte Macintosh, both 
the magnification and the halftoning 
features are available, but only for 
smaller regions of a scanned docu- 
ment (a document can be scaled four 
times linearly yielding a magnification 
of up to 16 times by area). 

To use the equipment, first select a 
page-map option from the scanner's 
menu. From within the page-map 
screen you can choose to scan the 
area of your original by changing the 
size of a selection rectangle. The sys- 



File Edit Scanner Tools 



tern prompts you with warning mes- 
sages if the area you select is either 
too large to store gray-scale informa- 
tion or too large to scan. This feature 
also lets you scan just a portion of a 
larger document to make certain that 
you have gray scale and magnification 
set correctly. 

After you've completed the scan- 
ning phase, you can play with the im- 
age in memory. You can work with a 
document in the same way you use 
MacPaint, with a special image win- 
dow. But Hertzfeld has added a series 
of features to the Thunderscan soft- 
ware that give it functions that Mac- 
Paint doesn't have. You can use a 
special hand icon to move large docu- 
ments around in the image window 
(unlike the first release of MacPaint, 
which stored image information out- 
side of memory on disk, Thunderscan 
allows the document to slide freely). 

You also can use the hand icon to 
impart inertia. For example, if you 
push the mouse in one direction, the 
image will continue to slide after you 




Figure 1: A scan dump. As Thunderscan scans a document, the image appears on the 
screen display. It can be adjusted dynamically by resetting the contrast and brightness 
gauges on the display. As each line is scanned, a scattergram of the scan appears on 
the Light Intensity Gauge. \n the lower left corner a message reports on the progress of 
the scanner. After the bit map of the image has been transferred to the Macintosh 
RAM it can be edited with several MacPaint-style tools that are displayed as icons in 
the upper left corner of the screen. The image also can be displayed in a larger window 
accessible from the menu bar. 



have stopped, much like a piece of 
paper slides along a table. In addition 
to being intuitive, this feature lets you 
move slowly or quickly around an 
image 

Other MacPaint icon tools, such as 
the pencil, FatBits, and cutting and 
pasting, as well as inversion (chang- 
ing black pixels to white pixels and 
vice versa), are also available within 
Thunderscan. 

Documents created by Thunderscan 
can be saved in one of two formats. 
One is a special MacPaint format 
yielding a 720- by 756-pixel docu- 
ment with 1 bit of information per 
pixel. The second is a less-restricted 
scan format that permits multiple bits 
of information to be stored for each 
pixel. 

The range of possibilities that Thun- 
derscan creates is fascinating. For ex- 
ample, Hertzfeld thinks that it might 
put an end to the burgeoning market 
for Macintosh predrawn images 
because you can copy virtually any 
image into the Macintosh memory. 

A future project for Hertzfeld is a 
Macintosh desk accessory (a small 
program that runs in the background 
under the Mac operating system) that 
will permit Thunderscan to send scan- 
ning information out through the 
Macintosh modem port while you 
work in another program. This would 
convert the Macintosh into a low-cost 
(and multitasking) digital-facsimile 
machine. Hertzfeld is also working on 
a protocol that would enable the 
Macintosh to print software code in 
a format that could be scanned using 
Thunderscan. Paper would then be 
the medium for software distribution. 
Hertzfeld believes that he could get 
close to 40K bytes per sheet of paper. 

More Delays for 
Microsoft Windows 

In early October 1984, Microsoft Cor- 
poration announced that it was post- 
poning the introduction of its long- 
awaited Windows software-integration 
package until June 1985. Leo Nikora, 
Windows product-marketing manager 
at Microsoft, said that the company 
was undertaking "a major redesign," 
in part because Windows' code cur- 



372 BYTE' FEBRUARY 1985 



BYTE WEST COAST 



rently takes up too much space and 
also because several functions are not 
running fast enough. 

As recently as this spring, Microsoft 
was hoping to achieve a minimum re- 
commended system size of 192K 
bytes. The most current technical in- 
formation available on Windows 
states that Windows together with the 
operating system occupies 1 56K bytes 
of memory; thus the currently recom- 
mended 2 56K bytes leaves only 
about 100K bytes for applications 
software— not much by today's 
standards. 

Nikora said that almost all of Win- 
dows is now written in the C language 
and that Microsoft plans to rewrite as 
much as half of the program in 8088 
assembly language. Apparently 
Microsoft is happy with the window- 
management functions of the pro- 
gram but feels that text management 
is inadequate. Nikora said that Micro- 
soft expects a twofold increase in text 
performance after the code is rewrit- 
ten, although he feels that the perfor- 
mance of the product is already 
satisfactory on the IBM PC AT. 

Microsoft is clearly worried that its 
decision to delay Windows will lead 
to a negative attitude in the market- 
place. "We have to be careful that 
Microsoft doesn't get the reputation 
of giving up in the face of TopView," 
claims Nikora, referring to IBM's en- 
try in the window-management fray. 

He also maintains that Microsoft's 
decision to delay the product intro- 
duction hasn't led to mass desertions 
on the part of companies developing 
applications software for Windows. 
On the contrary he said that there 
was a general feeling of relief that they 
were being given more time to get 
their applications ready for market. 

Microsoft is also looking for a way 
to differentiate Windows from Tbp- 
View, and the company appears to 
have found one because the current 
version of TopView is designed for a 
character-based display. This will, at 
least temporarily, be a selling point for 
Windows, which functions only in a 
bit-mapped environment. 

Will Windows face the same fate 
that befell Visi On? Nikora says that 



he is certain that it won't— his 
evidence is the fact that a number of 
the manufacturers of IBM PC-com- 
patible computers appear to have a 
sizable stake in the success of Win- 
dows. Still, Microsoft is starting over 
again after investing more than a year 
in attempting to develop a user inter- 
face for the IBM PC. 

CONVERGENT'S FAST NGEN 

Although criticism of the IBM PC AT 
hasn't been nearly as fevered as that 
leveled at the PCjr, there are some 
doubters emerging. Why, some ex- 
perts have asked, does the 80286 
microprocessor in the PC AT have an 
artificially lowered clock speed? And 
why is the bus speed even slower than 
the bus speed for the IBM PC? A 
number of companies are already 
comparing their systems to the PC AT 
to demonstrate their systems' per- 
formance. 



Several companies are 
already comparing their 
systems to the PC AT 
to demonstrate their 
systems' performance. 



Convergent Technologies Inc., a 
Santa Clara, California, company is 
selling its NGEN "modular" worksta- 
tion based on the Intel 80186 micro- 
processor to a variety of OEM sup- 
pliers. Last year the NGEN got off to 
a slow start because of the scarcity of 
the 80186, but now Convergent claims 
to have shipped 50,000 systems. 

The NGEN is built around a collec- 

{continued) 



THE RAPID PACE 
DATA BASE. 

he rapid pace of business today demands data storage solutions that can keep pace with 
,je dynamics of today's computing solutions. 

The Bernoulli Box " does just that— by creating, expanding, storing and backing up data 
Bases on handy 10 -megabyte cartridges (5 megabytes on the single-drive Macintosh " box). 
Its transfer rates and access times outperform hard disk devices. And when rapid pace 
means getting somewhere fast, your cartridge-contained data bases go with you. 
The Bernoulli Box. Available for the IBM PC, XT, M most compatibles, the TI Pro and 

i Macintosh. 
s dealer nearest you, call 1-800-556-1234 ext. 215. In California call 




THE 



IOMEGA CORPORATION 
1821 West 4000 South 
Roy, Utah 84067 






BERNOULLI 



BOC 



Inquiry 156 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 373 



thinS 



to 



i - 



ertect 



¥SSa^ 



When it comes to 
software, nobody's perfect. 
But according to many of the 
experts, one word processing 
program is as close as you can 
get. No wonder it's called 
WordPerfect. 

What are all the critics 
raving about? 

Simplicity. Most 
WordPerfect functions 
require only one keystroke, a 
simple press of a finger. So 
you can concentrate on 
writing, not programming. 

Speed. Because it is 
document- 
oriented 
instead of 
page- oriented, 
WordPerfect 
won't make you 



Reference Magazine 




wait 

between 
pages. No 
matter 
how fast 
you type, 



k v ..» fc .-..C UU U*« 



WordPerfect is mv favorite ^ 
because it i s easy, simple \ 

le ! 




Digital Review 



sim 
and powerful. Thege oi 

Lisf Magazine 

WordPerfect won't slow you 
down. 

Features. From writers to 
doctors, accountants to 
lawyers, WordPerfect has 
built-in special functions to 
meet a wide variety of specific 
needs. And at SSI, every day 
is spent upgrading and 
improving WordPerfect — 
reaching for 
perfection. 

Get your hands 
on the critics' 
choice, WordPerfect 
word processing from SSI. 



It's the closest 
thing to perfection. 

For more 
information, 
see your dealer. 

Or call or write: 

SSI Software 

288 West Center Street 

Orem, Utah 84057 

Information: (801) 224-4000 

Order Desk: 1-800-321-4566, 

Toll-free — 



xxx*** 



SSlboftware 

Reaching for perfection. 



374 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 274 



BYTE WEST COAST 



The NGEN is a quick 
machine, and it has an 
"X-Bms" that allows 
16-bit DMA transfers 
at speeds up to 4 
megabytes per second. 



tion of components; a separate video 
display and keyboard connect to a 
shoebox-size central processor. A 
variety of add-ons such as RAM, 
floppy- and fixed-disk drives, and 
graphics components can be simply 
plugged into the processor module to 
expand the system. Convergent Tfech- 
nologies' own multitasking multipro- 
grammed operating system (CTOS) 
permits users to run MS-DOS, 
CP/M-86, and Convergent's own flavor 
of UNIX System V called Distrix. 

It's a quick machine; the 80186 runs 
at 8 MHz, and it comes equipped with 
120-nanosecond RAM. The NGEN 
has a proprietary "X-Bus" that allows 
16-bit DMA (direct memory access) 
transfers at speeds up to 4 megabytes 
per second. 

To show off the performance of the 
NGEN, Convergent sets it next to an 
IBM PC AT and then has both systems 
recalculate a series of Fibonacci 
numbers in 2400 cells of a Multiplan 
spreadsheet. It takes the NGEN 4.9 
seconds to recalculate the series 
while the PC AT finishes it in 11.8 
seconds. This performance com- 
parison may not be entirely fair, given 
that Multiplan on the NGEN has been 
ported to run under CTOS and in the 
process its performance has been 
considerably improved. However, the 
demonstration gives ample evidence 
that it won't be hard to improve on 
the performance of the PC AT. 

Explosive Compatibles 

Tandem Computers Inc. has a new 
workstation and some associated soft- 
ware aimed at the IBM PC crowd. 



Tandem is known for its NonStop sys- 
tems, such as the new TXP 32-bit, 
transaction-processing computer. 
Parallel processors and special soft- 
ware protects these systems from 
breakdowns, which endears Tandem 
computers to on-line users such as 
airlines and banks. 

The new Dynamite 654x family of 
workstations provides the same fea- 
tures as the 653x family of on-line ter- 
minals but adds both 3270 emulation 
and personal computer features. The 
Dynamite is built around the 8086 
and can, it is claimed, run most IBM 
PC software. 

The two Dynamite workstations 
(which will be built in Austin, Texas) 
differ in mass-storage capacity and 
price. The 6541 has two 360K-byte 
floppy-disk drives and costs $2995. 
The 6546 has one 360K-byte floppy- 
disk drive and a 10-megabyte hard- 
disk drive and will cost $3995. 



Both the 6541 and the 6546 have 
12-inch green screens (for both text 
and graphics) and 2 56K bytes of 
RAM. The current options include bit- 
mapped graphics and memory ex- 
pansion to 640K bytes of RAM. The 
Dynamite terminals interface directly 
with Tandem's 5540 and 5541 
printers. 

Dynamite terminals come with MS- 
DOS and GW-BASIC. The new Tandem 
software includes IXF and PCformat. 
IXF (and associated information ex- 
change facilities) can transfer data 
from files on a Tandem NonStop sys- 
tem to a Dynamite workstation. PCfor- 
mat converts such files into MS-DOS- 
compatible files. 

Is Dynamite just another "compati- 
ble"? Tandem says it isn't because, 
while the Dynamite can run most IBM 
PC software it isn't supposed to be 
an IBM PC competitor; it's designed 

{continued) 



THE BRIEFCASE 
DATA BASE. 

Your business needs more data base versatility than you get from hard disk systems, 

versatility to help your people work more productively, wherever they are, or go. 

Your business needs The Bernoulli Box, u a storage system that lets you build and 

backup individualized data bases— for payroll, accounting, marketing-on rugged, 

interchangeable 5- and 10-megabyte cartridges. 

It works more reliably, quickly and flexibly than hard disk alternatives-without 

head crashes. And it works on the IBM PC, XT, AT, compatibles, the TI Pro and Apple's 

Macintosh." 

For the dealer nearest you, call 1 800 -556 -1234 ext. 215. In California 

call 1-800-441-2345 ext. 215. 



I0MEGAC 

i82i west ami 

Roy, Utah m^l 



E 



a 



BCK" 



Inquiry 157 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 375 







All Airlines Depart From This Terminal. 



Presenting Travelshopper 
. . . new from CompuServe 
and TWA. 

Now you can save time and money 
by getting information and reservations 
on virtually any flight on any airline — 
worldwide — from one source. If s TWA's 
new Travelshopper, available now through 
CompuServe's Information Service. 

With Travelshopper, you can scan 
flight availabilities, discover airfare bar- 
gains and order tickets... on your own 
personal computer... at home or in the 
office. 

You also receive automatic member- 
ship in TWA's Frequent Flight Bonus SM 
program. And you can build bonus points 
by staying at Marriott and Hilton hotels 
and by using Hertz Rent-A-Car. 



Besides Travelshopper, CompuServe 
offers an ever-growing list of other travel- 
oriented on-line services. 

The Official Airline Guide 
Electronic Edition lists direct and 
connecting flight schedules for over 700 
airlines worldwide plus over 500,000 
North American fares. 

Firsrwor Id Travel offers worldwide 
travel advice and service. 

Discover Orlando provides complete 
prices, hours and features on all of 
Central Florida's attractions and 
accommodations. 

West Coast Travel offers travel infor- 
mation for the western states. 

Pan Am's Travel Guide contains 
up-to-date information on immigration 



and health requirements for most 
foreign countries. 

And TravelVtsion® provides complete 
automotive information, including road 
maps and an expert, personalized roul 
service. 



iting 

e 



Let your travel plans really take off. 
Use Travelshopper and lots, lots more 
from CompuServe. 

To buy a CompuServe Starter Kit, see 
your nearest computer dealer. To receive 
our informative brochure, or to order 
direct, call or write: 

CompuServe 

P.O. Box 20212, 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd., 
Columbus.Ohto 43220 

1-800-848-8199 

In Ohio, Call 1-614-457-O802 



r and Frequent Flight Bonus are Service marks of TWA 



An H&R Btock Company 



Inquiry 



BYTE WEST COAST 



Companies Mentioned 



Convergent Technologies Inc. 

2500 Augustine Dr. 
Santa Clara, CA 95051 
(408) 727-8830 

Intel Corporation 
151 Blue Ravine Rd. 
Folsom, CA 95630 
(916) 351-8080 

Microsoft Corporation 

10700 Northup Way 
Bellevue, WA 98004 
(206) 828-8080 



Tandem Computers Inc. 

19333 Vallco Parkway 
Cupertino, CA 95014 
(800) 482-6336 

Thunderware 

19 Orinda Way, Suite G 
Orinda, CA 94563 
(415) 2 54-6581 



specifically to work with Tandem's big- 
ger transaction machines. 

Remember Bubbles? 

Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Division- 
one of the few companies still in the 
bubble-memory game— has a couple 
of new removable bubble-memory 
cassette kits: the BCK-10 and the 
BCK-12. Both provide a 1 -megabit 
cassette. The BCK-12 prototype kit 
costs $495 and has a limited tempera- 
ture range (10 to 55 degrees Celsius). 
The BCK-10 production kit costs $605 
and can survive a greater range of 
temperatures (0 to 65 degrees 
Celsius). The kits include the neces- 
sary support chips for the bubble 
memories and an SBC-2 58 board in- 
terface with a ribbon-cable output so 
you can just hook the kit up and start 
writing software. Intel is proud of the 
simplicity of these kits; they use only 
six support chips where earlier bub- 
ble systems required many more. 

The Intel facility in Folsom, Cali- 
fornia, is getting a new fabrication line 
to make 4-megabit bubble chips; the 
standard 1 -megabit chips will now 
probably be phased out in 1985 or 
1986. Moving from 4 to 16 megabits 
on a chip (by shrinking the loops) will 
be difficult and should take several 
years— the 4-megabit chips already 
depend on the advanced, expensive 
technique of X-ray lithography. 

Bubble memories aren't found in 
many personal computers; the ex- 
pense just can't be justified for routine 



applications. Some portables— the 
Grid and the Sharp— do use bubbles, 
which allow mass-storage with low 
power use. A few add-on boards have 
appeared (such as the Helix board for 
the IBM PC) that exploit the non- 



volatility of the bubble chips. While 
both the Grid and the Helix products 
use Intel bubbles, the Sharp portable 
uses Japanese bubble chips. If fabrica- 
tion costs can be brought down to a 
reasonable level, bubbles could be 
the storage device of the future, 
though early hopes have long since 
faded. 

A Blue Note 

Rolm— the telecommunications equip- 
ment maker— has frequently been 
used as an example of the Silicon 
Valley workstyle because it offers such 
employee benefits as flextime, sab- 
baticals, and a multimillion-dollar 
recreation center. T\vo senior IBM of- 
ficials appeared at Rolm to quell 
speculation that the famous workstyle 
would be threatened by the IBM buy- 
out. Said one of the officials. "Con- 
trary to what the press has said, we're 
not here to drain the pool." ■ 



THE SAVING GRACE 
DATA BASE. 

Businesses today need more than just more data capacity from mass storage devices. They 
need more data dynamics. And that means backup as well as primary storage. 
The Bernoulli Box, " with its removable storage system, delivers both. Not only can you create 
individual data bases on handy 10 -megabyte cartridges (5 megabytes on the single-drive 
Macintosh " box), you can backup files-in minutes, not hours. The compact cartridges are 
easily stored. And with the lowest available cost-per-megabyte. you not only save your data, 

,____-— -i r — r --sf---i but money and time as well. 

| — " " r~T ! ' r The Bernoulli Box. Available 

111 -for the IBM PC. XT. AT. most 

compatibles, the Tl Pro and 

; - ' - ■ m m Apple's Macintosh. 

1 For the dealer nearest you, 
calll-g0O-556-1234ext. 
215. In California call 
1-800-441-2345 ext. 215. 

JCZT 



IOMEGA CORPORATION 
1821 West 4000 South 
Roy. Utah 84067 



ERNOULU 



I 



* BCK" 



* 



Inquiry 158 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 377 



0& 

Now there'S/DowJones Software 
for the Macintosh computer. 




In the beginning there was Dow Jones 
Straight Tklk™ 

All across the country, Macintosh™ computers - and their 
owners - are getting smart with just the information they 
need: an electronic encyclopedia, business news and 
information, the latest stock quotes, sports and weather 
reports, airline schedules and fares. Point, click, Dow Jones 
News/Retrieval* and other leading electronic information 
services are at your fingertips. 

In feet so many Macintosh computers are getting smart 
that Straight Talk is a best seller 

Now there's more. 

Introducing Dow Jones Spreadsheet Link™ and 
Dow Jones Market Manager PLUS™ - new software for the 
Macintosh computer. 



Dow Jones Spreadsheet Link adds brainpower to your 
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tion you need from News/Retrieval and - click- Spreadsheet 
Link automatically downloads it into your spreadsheet. 

Dow Jones Market Manager PLUS makes portfolio 
management as easy as using a mouse. With current stock 
price information from News/Retrieval, the Market Manager 
PLUS saves time in record keeping, giving you more time to 
make smart investment decisions. 

Call for more information on Dow Jones Software™ 
tor the Macintosh computer: 

1-800-345-8500 ext. 100 

(Alaska, Hawaii, and foreign, call 1-215 789-7008 ext. 100) 

DowJones 



Software" 



Inquiry 97 



'Macintosh is a trademark licensed to Apple Oimpti let Inc Multiplan is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation I >. >w |. >nes Software is a trademark of Dow Jones & <x>mpany, Inc. Dow Jones Straight "Talk is a trademark of Dowjonesfii 
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Company. Inc. Copyright © 1984 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. AH Rights Reserved 




BYTE U.K. 



The 



Whitechapel 
Computer 



Works MG-1 



personal 



workstation 



by Dick Pountain 



Dick Fountain is a technical author 

and software consultant living in 

London, England. He can be 

contacted do BYTE. POB 372, 

Hancock. NH 03449. 



Realizing a Dream 



In previous columns I've documented 
some of the activity in British low-cost 
home computer design. Don't run 
away with the idea that we can only make 
home computers, though. This month I've 
been looking at a 3 2 -bit graphics worksta- 
tion that provides power roughly equivalent 
to a VAX 1 1/7 50 at a starting price of £5 500. 
The machine is called the Whitechapel 
Computer Works MG-I (see photo 1), and 
it is the first product from this start-up com- 
pany (let's call them WCW from now on). 
WCW was founded in April 1983 by Manag- 
ing Director Timothy Eccles (a physicist 
turned computer engineer who has worked 
at Bell Laboratories, Logica, and Rank 
Xerox) and Technical Director Bob Newman 
(a computer science lecturer at Queen Mary 
College in London). The company is located 
in a new complex called Whitechapel Tech- 
nology Centre which was created with 
assistance from the city council to attract 
high-technology industries back into the de- 
industrialized center of London; it seems to 
be working. Design of the MG-1 was begun 
in August 1983 and carried through to pro- 
duction in barely a year with the first units 
shipped in September of 1984. 

Personal Workstations 

For several years I've permitted myself the 
occasional daydream about what my (realiz- 
able) dream computer might be It goes 
something like this: a 68000 or 16032 (this 
was before National Semiconductor de- 
cided that 32016 sounded sexier) processor 
in a desktop box, a "clean" architecture with 
lots of memory and straightforward in-mem- 
ory bit-mapped graphics (but very high res- 
olution), an on-board Winchester drive and 
above all, hardware assistance for raster- 
graphics operations. In other words, my 
dream computer would be a personal com- 
puter (a la Apple II) fed with anabolic 
steroids, or alternatively, the Xerox Alto at 
a personal computer price I kept watching, 
but it didn't quite happen. The Sage (now 
Stride) looked interesting, but what's this— a 



serial terminal? The Corvus Concept 
showed us that even a 68000 runs out of 
steam if asked to run the screen as well as 
crunching numbers, but the Lisa and Macin- 
tosh continue to try. 

The MG-1 fits the bill exactly except that 
it isn't quite in my price range. It isn't meant 
to be of course. WCW has single-mindedly 
targetted it at the CAD/CAM (computer- 
aided design/computer-aided manufactur- 
ing) personal workstation market, com- 
peting with machines like Sun, Apollo, and 
Perq, which typically cost over four times 
as much as the MG-1. These dedicated mini- 
computers are called "personal worksta- 
tions" because only one person uses the 
machine at a time (i.e., they're not multi- 
user), but at upwards of £20,000 all but the 
richest firms would require several de- 
signers or engineers to share one machine 
on a rota. 

Bob Newman, principal designer of the 
MG-1, reasoned that if he adopted personal 
computer rather than minicomputer design 
techniques (no multiboard bit-slice pro- 
cessors, no demountable hard-disk packs, 
no industrial fans), a colossal price reduc- 
tion should be possible. He reasoned thus 
at the same time that VLSI (very-large-scale 
integration) technology had made it possi- 
ble Viewed this way, the MG-I is the first 
truly personal workstation; not only will it 
fit on a desk, but it's priced so that firms 
can afford one per person: it costs about 
the same as a full-spec IBM Personal Com- 
puter (PC) XT and less than a PC AT 

Specifications 

The MG-I is driven by the NS320I6 32-bit 
virtual-memory processor chip, running at 
8 MHz, and mounted along with all the 
other integrated-circuit (1C) components on 
a single personal-computer-style system 
board. An eight-layer board is used to give 
simpler routing for the conductors. This 
board is held in a desktop casing with a 
footprint slightly larger than that of an IBM 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 379 



BYTE U.K. 



PC: the works are cooled by a single 
miniature silent fan. 

The 32016 is complemented by its 
support chips, the 32082 memory 
manager and the 32081 floating-point 
processor, though the former is still 
suffering from bugs, and WCW cur- 
rently has it on a piggyback board 
that contains its own hardware fixes. 
Standard memory is 512K bytes, ex- 
pandable in 512K-byte chunks up to 
8 megabytes. At least 100K bytes of 
this memory is devoted to the bit- 
mapped black-and-white display that 
has a resolution of 1000 by 800 pixels. 
A 17-inch (landscape format) monitor 
with a display width of 1 50 characters 
is included, and it can depict an A4 
document page, albeit slightly re- 
duced to fit the height. Mass storage 
is provided by a single 800K-byte 
floppy-disk drive and a choice of a 
10-, 22-, or 4 5-megabyte Winchester 
drive built into the case 

Peripheral expansion is catered to 
by the bold step of adopting the IBM 
PC bus. The MG-1 internal expansion 
unit has three IBM expansion slots 
and IBM cards will work (with the pro- 
viso that suitable drivers have to be 
written). Communication is via a built- 
in Ethernet interface for networking 
MG-ls to share the expensive laser 
printers or plotters necessary to print 



on the high-resolution screen. An 
RS-232C port enables a local draft- 
quality printer or modem to be 
attached. 

The operating system is Genix, a 
Berkeley 4.1 UNIX customized by 
WCW to support the MG-l's graphics 
abilities, for which optimized C FOR- 
TRAN, and Pascal compilers are 
offered. 

Raster Graphics 

A CAD/CAM workstation has very 
specific requirements (which I believe 
are, in the main, also the requirements 
for future personal computers). It is 
by definition an interactive system 
that dictates very fast response times 
even for the most complex opera- 
tions. 

It must be capable of very-high- 
resolution graphics. In a low-cost 
machine this has to be achieved by 
using a direct refresh bit-mapped 
screen. Personal computer users are 
quite familiar with bit-mapped graph- 
ics; it's the rule rather than the excep- 
tion. However, in the CAD/CAM busi- 
ness it isn't yet the rule, but one tech- 
nique among many; random-scan vec- 
tor displays still are in use and where 
a raster display is used it frequently 
has a dedicated frame buffer separate 
from main memory 




Photo 1: The Whitchapel Computer Worfo MG-1 
32-bit virtual-memory processor chip. 



uses the National Semiconductor 32016 



WCW decided that the bit-map data 
should be in main memory (just like 
an Apple II or IBM PC) so that multi- 
ple screen buffers could be uti- 
lized; animation then can be achieved 
by building one screen while another 
is being displayed. The other advan- 
tage of having the bit map in main 
memory is that it simplifies the use of 
RasterOps as the primitive graphics 
operations. 

RasterOp (called BitBlt, for Bit Block 
TYansfer, at Xerox PARC |PaIo Alto Re- 
search Center|) is a fast algorithm for 
doing bit-mapped graphics. Anyone 
who has written a BASIC program to 
draw a circle knows that it takes a long 
time to move that circle (by redraw- 
ing it again somewhere else); the com- 
putation of which points to plot is 
wastefully repeated every time the cir- 
cle is drawn. RasterOp, in a nutshell, 
says "don't redraw the circle, move the 
bits that make up the first circle." Rec- 
tangular areas of the screen data 
(called "rasters") are directly moved 
about in the bit map using raster 
block-move operations (RasterOp). 
Unlike, for instance, simple Z80 block 
moves, with RasterOp you can do 
Boolean operations (AND,OR,XOR) 
between the destination and source 
rasters so you can get effects like over- 
lapping transparent backgrounds or 
use mask rasters to clip shapes. Much 
of the theory and practice of this kind 
of graphics was worked out at Xerox 
PARC in the 1970s (by the Smalltalk 
people, among others), and it lives to- 
day in the Lisa and Mac. (For more in- 
formation on Smalltalk, see the 
August 1981 BYTE.) 

Display systems based on RasterOp 
tend to be homogeneous; there is no 
distinction between "text" and 
"graphics." All text characters are 
handled as rasters, and this is what 
makes the plethora of different type 
styles possible on the Macintosh. 
Because of this total reliance, the ef- 
ficiency of RasterOp becomes critical. 

There are two computation prob- 
lems when using RasterOp; what to 
do if a raster (which is defined in bit 
coordinates) doesn't lie nicely on byte 
or word boundaries, and how to find 
the actual memory addresses of the 



380 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



BYTE UK. 



lines in a raster (don't forget that suc- 
cessive lines in a rectangle on the 
physical screen aren't contiguous in 
memory). The amount of computa- 
tion involved can bring even the most 
powerful of the new microprocessors 
to its knees if it has to do the com- 
putation every time it wants to write 
a character or scroll the screen in ad- 
dition to all its other duties. 

Having decided on a 1000 by 800 
screen (the minimum for a serious 
CAD display), WCW was committed to 
a lOOK-byte bit map. It's often neces- 
sary to treat the whole screen as a 
raster (e.g., when scrolling) so you 
have to be able to deal with single 
graphic objects of up to 100K bytes 
in size. The main design question has 
now answered itself. A 32K-bit pro- 
cessor is necessary to efficiently 
manipulate objects larger than 64K 
bytes. When writing a program on the 
MG-1 in C, for example you can pass 



the whole screen as a single array. 

WCW then decided to provide a 
separate video processor to handle 
RasterOps; this unit performs the 
shifts to align rasters to word boun- 
daries, masking, and Boolean opera- 
tions. It also calculates the addresses 
of rasters and feeds them to the 
microprocessor. The 32016 isn't 
loaded with any of these chores. 

By employing some tricky design 
techniques, including a 64K-bit-wide 
memory bus, WCW has managed to 
attain a flickerless 60-MHz screen- 
refresh rate using industry-standard 
1 50-nanosecond memory chips. The 
total memory bandwidth available is 
200 MHz, giving sufficient leeway for 
the 32016 to access memory with ef- 
fectively no wait states. 

The 32016's demand-paged virtual 
memory means that the data for a 
single screen might be scattered all 
over physical memory in different 



pages. Rather than waste time reor- 
ganizing these fragments into a con- 
tiguous lOOK-byte block, the video 
controller maintains a page map so 
that it always knows where its images 
are stored. 

The result of all these design deci- 
sions is spectacularly fast graphics 
operation combined with easy pro- 
gramming in high-level languages. 
Rasters can be created and processed 
anywhere in main memory and then 
moved onto the screen. As many 
screens as memory allows can be 
held in memory simultaneously, and 
with virtual memory, "memory allows" 
has a broad meaning. The MG-1 
employs a two-level paging system 
similar to that on the VAX. 

At a somewhat higher level, WCW 
has implemented the GKS (Graphical 
Kernel System) graphics standard, 
which is more suitable for CAD/CAM 

{continued) 



CAD SYSTEM 



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64KRAMSET $42 

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ADVANCED COMPUTER SYSTEMS 



Inquiry 12 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 381 



MEMOREX 

SPECIAL OFFER 

ON DATA 
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Inquiry !90 



I.B.M. Compatible 


PROM 8200 (FAST 


Case $100.00 


UNIVERSAL TYPE 


KeyBoard $149.00 


EPROM & PROM 


Motherboard without 


PROGRAMMER) Call 


BIOS $280.00 


EPROM: 2716, 2732, 


Power Supply 130 


2731A, 2764, 27128, 


Watt $150.00 


27256, 2516, 2532, 2564 


Multi Function Card 


Prom: ANY KIND 


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Color Graphic Board 


Apple Compatible 


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Z-80 Card $40.00 


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Inquiry 1 36 





6800/6809 

Micro Modules 



OEM 6800/6809 MICROCOMPUTER 
MODULES for dedicated control and 
monitoring, interfaces for sensors, 
transducers, analog signals, 
solenoids, relays, tamps, pumps, 
motors, keyboards, displays, IEEE-488, 
serial I/O, floppy disks. 



WINTER 



Inquiry 332 



BYTE U.K. 



applications programmers than are 
the raw raster-graphics primitives. 

I/O Hardware 

The adoption of virtual-memory UNIX 
together with the constraints imposed 
by the high-performance display 
places extraordinary demands on the 
hard-disk subsystem. 

Again Newman broke away from 
minicomputer design practices and 
went for a solution taken from the per- 
sonal computer domain: a central 
DMA (direct memory access) con- 
troller rather than complex multiple 
buses. The single-chip DMA controller 
can load consecutive blocks to any 
page in memory and works fast 
enough to do without buffering; there 
is a direct path from memory to the 
Winchester disk. In one rotation of the 
disk a whole track can be loaded, 
shotgun fashion, into a scattered 
selection of pages. Apart from perfor- 
mance and cost benefits, this scheme 
has the virtue of providing DMA ser- 
vice for any IBM expansion cards 
fitted to the expansion bus. 

The Ethernet controller can't be as 
simple because Ethernet requires 
devices to receive its packets of infor- 
mation without warning and at very 
high speed. With Ethernet, buffering 
was found to be necessary under 
operating system control using a sec- 
ond DMA device. 

Operating System 

Having decided upon the 320I6, 
WCW was faced with the crucial 
choice of an operating system. UNIX 
turned out to be the only commercial- 
ly widespread operating system that 
could support 32-bit virtual memory 
and had a reasonable software base. 
The fact that UNIX was designed for 
timeshared multiuser systems and has 
no support for graphics didn't help. 
National Semiconductor already 
had Genix, based on UNIX System II 
with the BSD (Berkeley Software 
Distribution) extensions, available for 
the 32016. WCW had to do consider- 
able work to get satisfactory perfor- 
mance in a single-user, interactive, 
graphics-based application quite 
unlike that for which it was designed. 



One of the biggest problems with 
UNIX is its poor response time to in- 
terrupts. Like most modern worksta- 
tions, the MG-l uses a mouse for cur- 
sor control and a mouse works by 
sending interrupts to the operating 
system to say that it's moved. If UNIX 
is busy elsewhere, cursor movement 
will start to lag noticeably behind 
mouse movement, thus destroying 
the visual illusion upon which mouse 
control is based. It's like driving a car 
with a flexible rubber steering wheel. 
Newman, typically, went for a hard- 
ware solution. The cursor is not rep- 
resented in the main bit map as on 
most other systems. Instead another 
coprocessor is employed to read the 
mouse position continuously, and the 
64-pixel cursor is produced in a small 
separate memory then video-mixed 
with the main display. UNIX and the 
main processor are only interrupted 
when some action is to be taken, i.e., 
a mouse button has been pressed. 
This same coprocessor handles the 
"soft" keyboard too, which makes it 
earn its keep. 

Another problem arises with the 
windowing system, for which UNIX's 
process communication system is not 
ideal. WCW is working on the window 
manager and has decided to treat it 
as a user program rather than an ex- 
tension to the UNIX kernel. This will 
permit experienced users to modify 
it if they wish. 

One of the great dangers with UNIX 
is system corruption on shutdown; 
you can't simply switch off the power 
on a UNIX system as you can with 
CP/M or MS-DOS and expect it to 
come back up unscathed. Huge 
amounts of housekeeping and reshuf- 
fling need to be done before UNIX 
can be put to sleep. Because personal 
computer users are used to a more 
cavalier attitude toward their 
machines, WCW took a leaf out of 
Lisa's book and provided a soft power 
switch. When you hit the "power-off" 
button, power is not disconnected im- 
mediately; instead an orderly UNIX 
shutdown is initiated while you are on 
your way down the stairs to catch your 
bus. 

{continued) 




A New Age Dawns for 
Microcomputer Programming 



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Apple I le (with extended 80 col - 

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Apple lie (with ProDos) 
AVAILABLE IN APRIL FOR: 
IBM PC/PCjr. 



PROMAL™ is innovative. 

PROMAL (PROgrammer's Micro 
Application Language) was 
designed to achieve maximum 
performance from small comput- 
ers... performance previously 
impossible except with machine 
language. And it was developed, 
specifically, to meet the need for 
a development system for limited 
memory environments. 
PROMAL is complete. 
It's a fast, structured programming 
language. It's also a true develop- 
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own command-oriented 
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short, PROMAL is the complete 
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programmers have been 
waiting for. 
PROMAL is fast. 



with saves to memory and com 
pilation from memory workspace 
PROMAL is elegant. 

PROMAL overcomes the perfor- 
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small systems. It gives you access 
to the power of the machi ne. But 
it doesn't require the complexity 
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ming. With PROMAL, you can 
have performance the easy way... 
since it was developed from the 
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PROMAL may be the answer 
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Finally there's an answer to the 
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Commodore 64 Benchmark / 

(Sieve of Eratosthenes) /i 


y*/* 


U 


w 


Execution Time (sees.) 


30 


630 


490 


51 


55 




Object Code Size (bytes) 


128 


255 


329 


181 


415 




Program Load Time (sees.) 


3.2 


3.8 


63 


11.2 


235 




Compile Time (sees.) 


85 


— 


— 


3.9 


108 





As the benchmark results i n the 
table show, PROMAL is much 
faster than any language tested. 
From 70% to 2000% faster! And 
it generates the most compact 
object code. The PROMAL 
compiler is so fast that it can 
compile a 100-line source 
program in 10 seconds or less. 
And, not only is itfast in compile 
and run time, it also reduces 
programming development time 
PROMAL is easy. 
It's easier to learn than Pascal or C 
or FORTH. It makes use of power- 
ful structured statements, like IF- 
ELSE, WHILE, REPEAT FOR, and 
CHOOSE. Indentation of state- 
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syntax, so all programs are neatly 
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line numbers to complicate your 
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don't take up memory space, so 
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through program development 



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PROMAL FEATURES 

COMPILED LANGUAGE 

Structured procedural language 
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Fast, 1 - pass com pi ler 

Simplified syntax requirements 

No line numbering required 

Long variable names 

Gobal, Local, & Arg variables 

Byte, Word, Integer & Real types 

Ctec or Hex number types 

Functions w/ passed arguments 

Procedures w/ passed arguments 

Built in I/O library 

Arrays, strings, pointers 

Control Statements: IF-ELSE, IF, WHILE, 
FOR, CHOOSE, BREAK, REPEAT, 
INCLUDE, NEXT, ESCAPE, REFUGE 

Compiler I/O from/to disk or memory 

EXECUTIVE 

Command oriented, w/line editing 

Memory resident 

Allows multiple user programs in 

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Function key definitions 
frogram abort and pause 
22 Resident system commands, 

8 user-defined resident commands, 

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Prior command recall 
I/O Re-direction to disk or printer 

Batch jobs 

EDITOR 

Full-screen, cursor driven 

Function key controlled 

Line insert, delete, search 

String search and replace 

Block copy, move, delete & wnte to/ 

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LIBRARY 

43 Machine-language commands 
Memory resident 
Call by name with arguments 
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ORDER FORM 



Please send me my copy of PROMAL 
SYSTEM (check one): 

DCommodore64 DApptelle DApplellc 

PROMAL Package Desired (check one): 

□ PROMAL (for systems listed above) $4995 plus $500 for shipping and handling at a total cost 
of $5495. Satisfaction guaranteed 

□ PROMAL Developer's Version $9995 pkjs $5O0 for shipping and handling for a total cost of 
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□ PROMAL demo diskette $K)O0 for the diskette plus $2.50 for postage and handling for a total 
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□ My check is enclosed. D Please charge my purchase to my .. . □ Visa D MasterCard 



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Name 


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North Carolina residents add 4 1/2% sales tax 



- Our Guarantee - 



Ty your copy of PROMAL for 15 days. If you are not complete^ satisfied retLim it to us 
undamaged and well refund your money. No questions asked. Dealer inquiries invited. 






SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES 

3700 Computer Drive, Dept. PB-2 
Raleigh, North Carolina 27609 

Inquiry 306 



C.r^New From 



V 



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and IBM Quad Link. Hollywood, FL 33024 



Inquiry 23 




8051/52 DEVELOPMENT BOARD 

8051 -Based Single-Board Computer with 

Monitor/Debugger 

■4 28-pin byte-wide 
sockets; monitor will 
program EEPROMS. 
■Perfect for System 
Development and 

^ t ___ Educational Applications 



» 



Binary Technology 



P.O. BOX 67 • MERIDEN. NH 03770 • 603/469 3232 



Inquiry 30 



Interpreter / Compiler 



' dBASE II R source compatible 

• Runs 3-20 times faster than dBASE II 

• Up to 48 fields per record 

• Full type-ahead capabilities 

1 Provides compact object code and 
program security 

► Twice as many memory variables 
as dBASE II 

• Sophisticated online manual and 
HELP facility 

MS-DOS $395 AOS/VS $995 

dBASE n is a registered trademark of Ashton Tate 



FOX SOFTWARE INC. 

13330 Bishop Road, P.O. Box 269 

Bowling Green. OH 43402 / 419-354-3981 



Inquiry M4 



BYTE U.K. 



Hardware solutions 
are becoming cheaper 
than writing software. 



Other little goodies include a 
battery-backed real-time clock/calen- 
dar and CMOS (complementary 
metal-oxide semiconductor) RAM 
(random-access read/write memory) 
area for holding system information 
to assist service engineers in mainte- 
nance and fault tracing. 

Software 

WCW does not intend to become a 
supplier of CAD/CAM software. The 
sort of client they are aiming the MG-l 
at will typically have some existing 
software system or will have a 
specification for such a system and 
the capability to write it. WCW will 
provide an operating system with 
graphics support (included in the 
machine's price), the GKS Kernel, a 
window manager, and three high- 
quality compilers for Pascal, C and, 
in recognition of its huge existing soft- 
ware base, FORTRAN. 

The Future 

There's no point in pretending that the 
MG-l is a personal computer in its 
present form. It's an extremely power- 
ful and cost-effective tool for engi- 
neers, designers, and possibly arti- 
ficial-intelligence researchers, but it re- 
quires a plotter or a laser printer to 
provide proper hard-copy output 
(hence the Ethernet). A serial dot- 
matrix printer could only produce 
text output for program listings. 

As a personal computer user I am 
interested in the MG-l because the 
design decisions embodied in it are 
relevant to the next generation of per- 
sonal computers. In particular, Bob 
Newman's philosophy of "do it in 
hardware where you can" is at odds 
with current thinking in certain large 
corporations, where a reliance on 
software solutions seems to be based 
on highly optimistic estimates of the 
power of the new microprocessors. 



Besides, we are entering an epoch in 
which hardware solutions are becom- 
ing cheaper than writing software. 

At the moment, the Macintosh is by 
far the cheapest personal computer 
using advanced raster graphics. Could 
the functionality of an MG-l be had 
for the price of a Macintosh? The 
32016 chip set is still terrifyingly ex- 
pensive and constitutes a significant 
fraction of the hardware costs, but this 
factor should ease in coming years as 
the various 32-bit chips get into 
volume manufacture. Similarly, the 
price of 2 56K-bit memory parts and 
of Winchester disks is steadily falling. 
Custom gate arrays could do away 
with most of the discrete logic used 
in the MG-L Perhaps most significant, 
though, is the new generation of 
graphics coprocessor chips that are 
on the way; for example INMOS's 
G2I3 Graphics Controller promises 
BitBlt at 8 million pixels per second. 
Laser printers are tumbling in price 
(witness the Canon), or perhaps one 
of the more potent dot-matrix printers 
like the Epson LO-l 500 could be per- 
suaded, like Apple's Imagewriter, to 
perform as a fast graphics device 

Speculation aside, a most exciting 
prospect arises because the MG-l 
possesses sufficient brawn to support 
the Xerox Smalltalk language system. 
Newman is enthusiastic about Small- 
talk and sees it as a possible develop- 
ment, though the marketing people 
are not yet convinced that a real de- 
mand exists. Tfektronix announced the 
HS 4404 Artificial Intelligence System 
with Smalitalk-80 at $14,950-the 
cheapest Smalltalk system so far (see 
What's New, October 1984 BYTE, 
page 39). You won't need a spread- 
sheet to work that out; an MG-l 
should do it for about half that price 
with a laser printer thrown in. This 
would at least put Smalltalk into the 
hands of educational institutions, but 
it remains well beyond private 
pockets. Mores the pity. 

WCW should have a subsidiary in 
the U.S. in operation by the time this 
column is printed. Contact White- 
chapel in the U.K. at 75 Whitechapel 
Rd. London El, England. BYTE hopes 
to review the MG-l in a future issue. ■ 



Train for the Fastest Growing Job Skill in America 

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micro 



As computers move into 
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The Department of Labor estimates 
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Total System Training 

As an NRI student, you'll get total 
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You learn at your own convenience, in 
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The Exciting Sanyo 
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Critics hail the new Sanyo as 
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Sanyo. 

As you build the Sanyo from the 
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NRI is the only home 
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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 385 




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Creating useful products and services for you. 
Inquiry 311 




COMPUTERS AND LAW 

Copying 
Mass-Marketed Software 



Both sides 
of the Lotus 



by Robert Greene 

Sterne and 

Perry J. Saidman 



This is the first of our columns on 
computers and law, and a few 
words are in order. As contributing 
editors, we will examine state-of-the-art 
IclWSUltS computer-law issues. Since the law lags 
behind the technology and the technology 
is evolving at a rapid rate, legal systems 
everywhere are being confronted with such 
novel legal questions as legal protection of 
application and operating-system software, 
user rights against vendors for defective 
hardware and software, ownership rights in 
microcomputer technology created by in- 
dependent contractors, and the right to 
publish protected software in user maga- 
zines. The resolution of such questions will 
shape the microcomputer industry in the 
years ahead. In our columns, we will ad- 
dress a given computer-law issue, present 
the arguments and legal precedents, if any, 
on either side, and let you decide which is 
more persuasive. This, we hope, will foster 
an awareness of computer-law issues. 



The Lotus Lawsuits 

Lotus Development Corporation has started 
the next round in the legal prizefight be- 
tween software vendors and users of mass- 
marketed software packages. In the winter 
of 1983/84, Lotus filed a lawsuit against 
Rixon, a maker of modems and multiplex- 
ers in Silver Spring, Maryland, alleging that 
Rixon personnel have made more than 10 
unauthorized copies of Lotus 1-2-3 and as- 
sociated documentation. The suit was 
quickly settled. According to the trade 
press, Rixon agreed to a permanent injunc- 
tion against unauthorized copying and paid 
Lotus an undisclosed sum of money. The 
suit received widespread publicity and sent 
shock waves through corporate America. 
Flush with victory Lotus filed suit in July 
1984 against Health Group Inc. (HGI). Lotus 
alleged that HGI had made several un- 
authorized copies of the Lotus 1-2-3 disks 
and delivered them to its hospitals and 
nursing homes in the southeastern United 
States. The suit was settled by consent 



Robert Greene Sterne and Perry J. 

Saidman are attorneys with the 

computer-law firm Saidman. Sterne, 

K£ssler, & Goldstein in Washington. 

DC They are also contributing 

editors for BYTE. They can be 

contacted do BYTE. POB 372. 

Hancock. NH 03449. 



decree in September 1984, a little more 
than two months after it was initiated. As 
Rixon did, HGI agreed to a permanent in- 
junction against unauthorized copying and 
paid Lotus an undisclosed sum of money. 
This suit also has received widespread pub- 
licity 

These two lawsuits appear to be the 
beginning of a wave of such suits by soft- 
ware vendors against institutional users- 
manufacturers, service organizations, 
governmental bodies, schools— whose per- 
sonnel are making unauthorized copies of 
mass-marketed software packages. This ac- 
tivity seems to be enormous and growing. 
Depending on whom you talk to, estimates 
range from 1 to 20 unauthorized copies for 
each authorized copy. These unauthorized 
copies represent an enormous amount of 
money: estimates place it in the hundreds 
of millions of dollars. 

Top executives at several large software 
houses have indicated to us that they are 
seriously thinking of following Lotus's lead. 
We also know from discussions with top 
lawyers at several large companies and 
governmental agencies that a massive 
cleanup campaign is afoot as organizations 
silently trash their unauthorized copies. 

Legal Issues Involved 

All this has started a spirited, and often very 
heated, debate between vendors and users. 
Vendors see this as a market-correcting 
mechanism for keeping institutional users 
"honest." Many users grudgingly agree but 
wonder if the vendors might not be biting 
the hand that feeds them. A vocal group 
of users vehemently disagrees with the ven- 
dors and charges that this is nothing more 
than an attempt to intimidate us ,rs into 
paying inflated license fees. The users warn 
that the upshot of this will be a loss of 
creativity and freedom as big business 
tightens its grip on the microcomputer 
market. 
In its suit against HGI, Lotus alleged six 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 387 



COMPUTERS & LAW 



Lotus claimed 



maximum statutory 
damages of $50,000 
for each unauthorized 
copy plus court costs. 



legal theories (called counts) to sup- 
port the legal remedies sought, in- 
cluding a permanent injunction 
against unauthorized copying, com- 
pensatory money damages, lost prof- 
its, statutory money damages, at- 
torneys' fees, and court costs. If the 
Lotus Development Corporation had 
been awarded relief on all counts in 
the amounts alleged in the complaint, 
HGI would have been out more than 
2 million dollars. 

Count one alleged that HGI had 
willfully infringed the Lotus copyrights 
on Lotus 1-2-3. Lotus stated that it 
owned two copyright registrations— 
TX 1-233-501 and TX 1-233-502-in 
the Lotus 1-2-3 packages, which in- 
clude the user's manual and the soft- 
ware disks. It stated that the two 
registrations had effective dates prior 
to the date on which infringement 
began. This was important, since 
Lotus could not receive statutory 
damages or attorneys' fees for any in- 
fringement that occurred before the 
effective date of the copyright regis- 



trations. Lotus also stated that all 
lawful copies of Lotus 1-2-3 had car- 
ried a proper copyright notice. It al- 
leged that since the infringement was 
willful, it was entitled to attorneys' 
fees and statutory damages of 
$50,000 for "each act of infringe- 
ment" (i.e., each unauthorized copy!) in 
addition to a permanent injunction 
and court costs. 

Court decisions have been handed 
down that find that application soft- 
ware is entitled to copyright protec- 
tion and that verbatim copying con- 
stitutes copyright infringement unless 
it is authorized by agreement or by 
law. Further, the Copyright Office 
routinely grants copyright registra- 
tions for application software that is 
in compliance with the registration re- 
quirements. What is of great signifi- 
cance in count one is that Lotus al- 
leged that it was entitled to statutory 
damages in the maximum of $50,000 
for each unauthorized copy Section 
504(c) of the Copyright Act of 1976 
states that the copyright owner may 
receive instead of actual damages and 
profits "an award of statutory 
damages for all infringements in- 
volved in the action, with respect to 
any one work . . . ." Statutory damages 
range from $100 to $50,000 depend- 
ing on whether the infringement is in- 
nocent or willful. While the court has 
considerable latitude in the actual 
dollar amount, many legal experts 
argue that the language of Section 
504 and its legislative history do not 
permit the court to multiply the 



statutory-damage dollar amount by 
the number of unauthorized copies. 
There do not appear to be any legal 
decisions that have addressed this 
precise issue. 

The resolution of the statutory- 
damage issue will have far-reaching 
practical effects. If Lotus were correct 
in its interpretation and if the court 
agreed that it should receive the max- 
imum $50,000 for each infringing 
copy, then Lotus would have received 
1 million dollars for 10 unauthorized 
copies of Lotus 1-2-3 (multiplied by 
two since there were two copyright 
registrations). If Lotus were incorrect in 
its interpretation, then it would have 
received $50,000 for the 10 un- 
authorized copies. Compare these 
two amounts to $4950, which is 
calculated by multiplying the 10 
unauthorized copies by $495 (the 
suggested retail price for Lotus 1-2-3). 
Under the 1909 Copyright Act, the 
current law's predecessor, some court 
decisions multiplied "in lieu" dam- 
ages (similar to statutory damages) by 
the number of infringements of a 
single work. Fine lines were drawn as 
to the number of infringements. For 
example, one factor was whether the 
unauthorized copies were made all at 
once or over a space of time. Essen- 
tially, courts were finding ways to 
justify the multiplication approach in 
situations where a large number of 
unauthorized copies had been made 
of a single work and they felt that only 
one statutory amount was insufficient. 

Supporters of the Lotus interpreta- 



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388 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 260 



COMPUTERS & LAW 



tion argue that the multiplication is 
proper since it fulfills the intent 
behind statutory damages, which is to 
provide adequate relief to the copy- 
right owner. They point out that it is 
form over substance if multiplication 
is allowed when unauthorized copies 
are made over time and not allowed 
if they are made all at once. They 
maintain that the court should have 
discretion both with the dollar 
amount of the statutory damage and 
with the number of times it is 
awarded. 

Detractors of the Lotus interpreta- 
tion go straight to the language of 
Section 504. They see no ambiguity 
and argue that only one amount of 
statutory damages can be awarded 
for all infringements of a single work. 
They note that the legislative history 
of Section 504 supports this inter- 
pretation. They see the availability of 
actual damages and profits as the 
mechanism to compensate the copy- 
right owner where there have been 
many unauthorized copies of a single 
work. Any other approach, they argue, 
would allow the copyright owner to 
effectively obtain punitive damages, 
which are unavailable under the 
copyright law. 

Count two alleged that HGI com- 
mitted willful trademark infringement 
since the unauthorized copies con- 
tained the Lotus and 1-2-3 trademarks. 
As pointed out in our article "TYade- 
marking Software Packages" (March 
1984 BYTE, page 393), trademarks 
often offer the most effective way to 
protect mass-marketed software pack- 
ages. It is interesting to see that Lotus 
thought enough of its trademark 
rights to allege that it was entitled to 
not less than 1 million dollars for their 
infringement. It has been well docu- 
mented that Lotus has spent millions 
of dollars advertising and promoting 
Lotus 1-2-3. It makes good business 
sense that Lotus would try to protect 
this investment by vigorously enforc- 
ing its rights in its trademarks and 
goodwill. 

Count three is of interest because 
Lotus alleged that HGI violated the 
terms of the license agreement that 
accompanied the lawful copy of Lotus 



1-2-3. This is the so-called shrink-wrap 
license, which you find under the clear 
wrapper that encases Lotus 1-2-3 
before you first open it. The whole 
issue of shrink-wrap licenses was 
debated at the BYTE Computer Show 
in San Francisco in September 1984. 
(T^pes of the software piracy session 
(SSI) can be purchased for $8 from 
Professional Cassette Center 180 East 
California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91 105, 
(818) 796-0200.) 

Lotus alleged that the unauthorized 
copies breached the provision of the 
shrink-wrap license that states that the 
user "may not . . . make copies of the 
User's Manual or the 1-2-3 system 
disk. . . ." Vendors argue that the 
shrink-wrap license becomes binding 
on the user when the software pack- 
age is opened and not returned and 
that contractual provisions against 
copying are valid. Users take the op- 
posite view. First, they argue that a 
shrink-wrap license is not binding 
because the user never has accepted 
it. They also argue that even if there 
has been acceptance, the copying 
provisions are invalid because they 
are in conflict with the copying provi- 
sions contained in Section 1 17 of the 
1980 Software Amendments to the 
1976 Copyright Act. Section 1 17 states 
that "it is not an infringement for the 
owner of a copy of a computer pro- 
gram to make or authorize the mak- 
ing of another copy or adaptation of 
that computer program provided: (1) 
that such a new copy or adaptation 
is created as an essential step in the 
utilization of the computer program 
in conjunction with the machine and 
that it is used in no other manner, or 
(2) that such new copy or adaptation 
is for archival purposes only and that 
all archival copies are destroyed in the 
event that continued possession of 
the computer program should cease 
to be rightful." 

Users argue that, when it is read 
literally, the Lotus copying prohibition 
is in conflict with Section 1 1 7 and thus 
is invalid due to preemption under 
Section 301 of the copyright law. 
Essentially preemption means that 
the federal copyright law will take 
precedence over any state law that is 



It would seem that 
Lotus is picking 
and choosing its 
targets carefully. 



in direct conflict with it. 

Count four alleged that HGI unjust- 
ly enriched itself by making and using 
the unauthorized copies. Count five 
alleged that HGI committed fraud and 
misrepresentation. And, finally, count 
six alleged that HGI violated the Ten- 
nessee Consumer Protection Act. 
Each of these counts may have been 
viable, but the real teeth of the Lotus 
action were in counts one to three. 

Why Settle? 

Lotus has been able to settle both of 
these suits to its satisfaction outside 
of court. Thus, we have no way of 
knowing whether a court would find 
one or more of the alleged legal 
theories valid. Cynics would argue 
that Lotus and other vendors will only 
bring lawsuits in situations with a high 
probability of settlement. In other 
words, they are deliberately avoiding 
a legal test of these legal theories. 
There is definite merit to the argu- 
ment that Lotus is picking and choos- 
ing its targets carefully. This is exact- 
ly what Apple did when it successful- 
ly went after copiers of its operating- 
system software. This approach was 
also employed by Bally, Atari, and 
other electronic-game manufacturers. 
Copyright owners have learned to be 
very careful in bringing lawsuits involv- 
ing new computer-law theories. An 
unfavorable decision, even if later 
overruled, can have a major impact on 
that theory of computer law for years. 
A loss also generates adverse publici- 
ty for the vendor, which makes settle- 
ments in other situations more dif- 
ficult to obtain. 

How Do They Find Out? 

We were interested in learning how 
vendors find out about institutional 

[continued] 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 389 



Lotus" User? 



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Inquiry 3 



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Inquiry 102 



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Inquiry 317 



COMPUTERS & LAW 



Users argue that the 
root of the problem 
lies in inflated prices 
of software. 



copying. It seems that vendors are as 
creative in this regard as users are in 
making unauthorized copies. They ap- 
pear to have two major avenues of in- 
formation. The first involves vendor 
software support. The actual user of 
an unauthorized copy will call the ven- 
dor's support number for assistance. 
In helping the user, the vendor begins 
to realize that the copy is unautho- 
rized. It may sound crazy, but this is 
exactly what happened in the Rixon 
situation. 

The other avenue is employees. It 
is understandable that disgruntled 
former employees often inform on 
their former employer as a way of get- 
ting revenge. Vendors meet with such 
people, and if their stories check out, 
a legal action may result. Even more 
interesting is the present employee 
who is having pangs of conscience. 
Management is asking him to make 
unauthorized copies, and he feels that 
it is wrong. 

The unauthorized copies occur for 
many different reasons: a supervisor 
may have it done to keep within 
budget: a purchasing agent may make 
the procurement process so cumber- 
some that unauthorized copying is 
the path of least resistance; or a cor- 
porate attitude may evolve that con- 
dones and even applauds unautho- 
rized copying. Vendor lawyers told us 
that this is one of the major areas of 
reform that the suits are intended to 
achieve. 

In the Final Analysis 

Users argue that much of the un- 
authorized copying would not be tak- 
ing place if vendors had more en- 
lightened marketing policies. They 
think that it is absurd that they have 
to pay such a high price for the nth 
copy of the same software package. 



Some vendors are responding to this 
argument by implementing site 
licenses that allow multiple copies to 
be obtained at discounted prices. This 
seems to make economic sense for 
vendors due to the economy of scale 
that is present. 

Some users argue that the root of 
the problem lies in the inflated prices 
of software, whether in single or multi- 
ple copies. They contend that copy- 
ing, whether by institutions or in- 
dividuals for their own use, would 
come down in direct proportion to a 
reduction in price. It is a kind of 
supply-side economic theory. 

Vendors see things quite the op- 
posite They argue that high prices are 
due to the lost sales caused by the un- 
authorized copying. Contrary to the 
myth of exorbitant profits, they point 
to the shakeout in the microcomputer 
software industry as proof positive 
that they cannot afford to shave their 
profits any more than they have. They 
point out that creating a commercial- 
ly successful software package today 
requires a team of specialists— de- 
signers, programmers, technical 
writers, marketing specialists, and ad- 
ministrative personnel— and big devel- 
opment and marketing budgets. Gone 
are the days of shoestring success 
stories such as Electric Pencil. They 
constantly come back to the fact that 
the financial community no longer is 
in awe of the software industry and 
demands significant returns for its 
software investments. 

Where Does This Leave Us? 

There is no doubt that the Lotus suits 
are having a major impact on institu- 
tional users. As time goes on, a 
greater percentage of mass-marketed 
software will be used by institutional 
users as microcomputers find their 
way onto desks and workstations 
throughout the country. Lotus and 
others intend to make sure that 
authorized software is used with these 
machines. Sooner or later, one of 
these users will actually be sued and 
will fight back. That first court case will 
have an impact that will cause the im- 
pact of Lotus's two out-of-court settle- 
ments to pale by comparison. ■ 



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Inquiry 337 



FEBRUARY 1985 •BYTE 391 




BYTE 

International Trader To The 

World Mcro Market 



If you've been waiting for the lines of 
communication to open up in the 
international micro market, you've been 
wasting your time. BYTE is not only in 
touch with the market: BYTE is the market 
We communicate regularly with the top 
microcomputing professionals and business 
people all over the world. 

We are the international standard in micro 
publications. That's why our readers rely on 
our editorial and ads to deliver the latest in 
available micro products and services. And 
when we deliver, 94.5% of our readers take 
action on the ads they read.* 

If you need a communications link to impact 
the international marketplace, or for the 
International or Domestic Subscriber Profile, 
call your BYTE sales representative now. 
The waiting is over. 



For advertising information, call: 



Austria 


Hans Csokor 


75 76 84 


Israel 


Gurit Gepner 


866 561 321 39 


W. Germany 


Fritz Krusebecker 


72 01 81 


Spain 


Maria Sarmiento 


45 52 891 


Sweden 


Andrew Karnig 


46-8-44 0005 


France 


Jean Christian Acis 


720 33 42 


England 


Arthur Scheffer 


01 493 1451 


Italy 


Savio Pesavento 


86 90 656 


Singapore 


Seavex Ltd. 


734-9790 


Hong Kong 


Seavex Ltd. 


5-260149 


Japan 


Hiro Morita 


581-9811 


U.S.A. 


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f|fjj 'Source: 1984 Subscriber Profile 

■ ■AIM For subscription information in Europe, call 

■ ■nil James Hay in England: (0628) 2341 . 



When Byte Speaks Micro, 
The World Listens. 

BYTE 

THE SMALL SYSTEMS JOURNAL 



392 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



CIRCUIT CELLAR FEEDBACK 



Conducted by Steve Qiarcia 

Term-Mite for Visually 
Impaired 

Dear Steve, 

I am looking into the possibility of 
assembling a word-processing system for 
someone who is visually impaired and can 
read only oversize type. My thought is to 
couple a terminal with oversize characters 
to a machine like the Morrow Micro Deci- 
sion, which works with an external ter- 
minal. Could your Term-Mite ST Smart Ter- 
minal be configured with a character grid 
of 12 lines by 40 columns of double-height 
and double-width characters? Do you 
know of any other terminals that produce 
oversize characters? 

I would greatly appreciate an answer to 
these questions and any other suggestions 
you have regarding computing for the 
visually impaired. 

Steven Ebstein 
Cambridge, MA 

The Term-Mite ST Smart Terminal (de- 
scribed in January and February 1984) 
has attributes to allow double-height and 
double-width characters. It is therefore 
possible to create the 12-line by 40-col- 
umn display you desire. 

Several terminals on the market that 
feature double-height/double-width char- 
acter sizes include the Ergo 301 from 
Micro-Term Inc., 1314 Hanley Industrial 
Court, St Louis, MO 63144, (314) 968- 
8151: the ET80 from Tec Inc., 2727 North 
Fairview Ave, Tbcson, AZ 85705, (602) 
792-2230; and the TeleVideo 970 from 
TeleVideo Systems Inc., 1 1 70 Morse Ave, 
Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 745-7760. 

Many graphics terminals are available 
that allow custom programming of char- 
acter sizes, but they are considerably 
more expensive (several thousands of 
dollars). If double-size characters are not 
adequate, either a terminal of this type 
or a dedicated computer with graphics 
capability will be needed—Steve 

Line Protection 

Dear Steve, 

After reading your December 1983 ar- 
ticle, I decided to install some MOVs 
(metal-oxide varistors) in my power strips 



for my computer systems. When I pur- 
chased my computer, I bought a General 
Electric Spike Protector from the hardware 
store (for $19.95— and I thought radio 
tubes had the highest markup in the elec- 
tronics industry). I can see that this is iden- 
tical to the Radio Shack model pictured 
in your article. However, 1 realized that this 
would not afford me the full protection 
you recommended. 

1 decided, after reading your article, to 
take it apart to see what it contained. 1 
found a GE V170LA10A MOV connected 
in series with a Microtemp 4 1 68 A 1 tem- 
perature-cutoff device. How does this 
device function in this circuit? 

My local electronics-supply store does 
not carry GE parts but had the RCA equiv- 
alents. 1 decided upon the SK53, which is 
equivalent to the GE V130LA20A. This is 
because 1 have several items plugged into 
my power strip, and I didn't want to take 
the chance of underprotecting it. The SK 
(and the ECG) catalogs list temperature 
devices, but I did not know which one to 
get nor how to install it (one for each 
MOV?), so I left them out for now. I would 
like to know if I need to install these cutoffs 
and how I should go about it. 

I would also like to know how to build 
my own power strip that would filter out 
line noise, because my Apple He causes 
my wireless telephone to go crazy when- 
ever graphics or flashing text is being 
displayed on the screen. 1 don't believe 
that the interference is RF-transmitted 
because the phone is two rooms away 
Also, the phone is in its cradle at the time 
and is supposed to be immune to outside 
transmissions. Would a line filter help in 
this instance? The Radio Shack filter, part 
number 273-100, doesn't seem to be avail- 
able any more— none of the stores in my 
area have it. 

I look forward to your excellent articles 
every month, and although some are 
above me (I'm an audio/video expert), I 
still enjoy reading them. Keep warm up 
there in Connecticut and keep the articles 
coming! 

Robert M. Deano 
New Orleans, LA 

MOVs usually fail by shorting. The tem- 
perature-cutoff device in series with the 



MOV is designed to open in the event of 
an MOV failure. A fuse will serve the 
same purpose and should be installed in 
series with the MOV 

In either case, the protection device 
should function before the MOV casing 
ruptures. If you are in an area where 
lightning strikes are not too frequent, the 
SK53 or GE V130LA20A MOVs are suit- 
able. Use a "slow-blow" series fuse rated 
at no more than 15 A. 

Before applying line filters to your 
Apple lie, be sure that the cause of radia- 
tion is not ungrounded leads to your 
monitor or disk drives. Often, these leads 
can act as an antenna and radiate 
spurious signals. 

Several manufacturers supply power- 
line filters that are suitable for your ap- 
plications. They include 

Corcom Inc. 
1600 Winchester Rd. 
Libertyville, IL 60048 
(312) 680-7400 
Type 5VKI or 5VK3 

Cornell-Dubilier Electronics 
150 Avenue L 
Newark, NJ 07105 
(201) 589-7500 
Type APF511L 

Delta Electronics Industry USA 
1355 Yosemite Way 
Hayward, CA 94545 
(415) 785-5231 
Type 05DBAG5 

Potter Company 
POB 337 

Wesson, MS 39191 
(601) 643-2215 
Type 600A5 

These filters are equivalent to the Radio 
Shack part number 273-100. Write the 
manufacturers for additional information 
and the address of your nearest supplier 
—Steve 

Speech Synthesis 

Dear Steve, 

I thoroughly enjoyed your article "Build 
a Third-Generation Phonetic Speech Syn- 

{continued) 



COPYRIGHT© 1985 STEVEN A. CIARCIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 393 



CIARCIA FEEDBACK 



thesizer" in the March 1984 issue. I would 
like to bring attention to two comments 
in the article. On page 36, you said: "Most 
text-to-speech routines don't let you 
modify the rule tables or expand the 
number of exceptions." My company. 
Spectrum Projects, markets a voice synthe- 
sizer for the Radio Shack Color Computer; 
it costs $69.95 and includes in its text-to- 
speech software a word manager that lets 
you construct and edit custom dictio- 
naries. It also prints the phonemes of a 
word, which lets you try different spellings 
to get better pronunciation and then have 
hard-copy printouts to review before add- 
ing the words to the dictionary. Finally the 
product pronounces each alphanumeric 
key as it is pressed— an aid for the visual- 
ly impaired. 

On page 40, you said: "I haven't men- 
tioned many uses for speech synthesis, 
but I'm sure you have a few ideas for what 
you could do with a speech synthesizer." 
Spectrum Projects also markets a program 
called Termtalk that allows the visually im- 
paired to communicate using low-cost 
equipment {$159 for a 16K-byte Color 
Computer II, $69 for the Spectrum Voice 
Pak. and $39 for Termtalk). A blind 
customer of mine is thrilled that he can 
now get stock quotes from Dow Jones 
using my products. 

Bob Rosen 

Spectrum Projects 

93-15 86th Dr. 

Woodhaven, NY 11421 

Thank you very much for your letter 
and the data on your Voice Pak speech 
synthesizer and related software. The 
product sounds quite impressive, espe- 
cially the price! 

The ability to modify the rules of 
speech is an excellent feature that 
enables greater accuracy in pronuncia- 
tion. The Sweet Talker speech-synthesis 
algorithm is a proprietary package and 
lacks that feature. 

Your software is very comprehensive 
and allows the Voice Pak to be used in 
an integrated fashion. Termtalk is espe- 
cially useful for the visually impaired. 

Thanks again for the information. It's 
nice to see others promoting speech-syn- 
thesis applications— Steve 

Nor Just for IBM 

Dear Steve. 

I have a new Columbia 1600-4. This 
desktop model is considered to be an IBM 
PC-compatible computer. Would the 
Trump Card work in it? 



I also have a North Star Horizon, about 
four years old, on which I run BASIC 
programs— some under North Star DOS 
and some such as WordStar under CP/M. 
The Horizon has a Z80-A chip, and I am 
wondering whether the Zilog Z8001 can 
run Z80 programs. In other words, is the 
8000 or 8001 upward-compatible with the 
Z80 instruction set, and does it constitute 
what could be considered part of a family 
of chips with the 8001 simply being more 
advanced, powerful, and able to handle 
16 bits? 

Wolcott Toll 
Newtown, CT 

The Z8001 does not have the same in- 
struction set as the Z80 and is not direct- 
ly compatible with your Z80 programs. 
The Trump Card does, however, have a 
CP/M 2.2 software emulator that will run 
Z80 programs like WordStar, SuperCalc, 
and Multiplan. To use your Z80 programs, 
they must first be transferred to a PC- 
DOS or MS-DOS disk and given a file- 
name extension of .CMD to differentiate 
them from 8088 COM files This can be 
accomplished in several ways. The easiest 
way to transfer your files is to connect 
the RS-232C ports on your computers 
and use communication software to send 
and receive the files. 

The Trump Card should be compatible 
with your Columbia 1600-4, but if you 
have any questions contact Sweet Micro 
Systems, 50 Freeway Dr., Cranston, Rl 
02910, (401) 461-0530. -Steve 

Temperature over 
Power Lines 

Dear Steve, 

I read your article "Build a Power-Line 
Carrier-Current Modem" in the August 
1983 issue. I'd like to build a data- 
collection network that would send tem- 
perature information over 120-V power 
lines to a host computer for storage. The 
temperature sensors would send informa- 
tion only when requested to do so by the 
host. In what form is the information best 
sent and which is cheapest? 

Nasser Audatala 
Cleveland, OH 

Most low-cost serial-communication 
systems use ASCII characters to transmit 
information. These systems require a 
method of generating the ASCII charac- 
ter and converting it to serial data on the 
transmitting end and a method of receiv- 
ing the serial data on the receiving end 
and converting it to some useful format 



Computers and dumb terminals are typi- 
cally used to send and receive the infor- 
mation in these systems. 

However, in a data-collection system of 
the type that you indicate, data transfer 
can be handled in a much simpler man- 
ner. The temperature data can be ac- 
quired and converted to a frequency pro- 
portional to the temperature using a VCO 
(voltage-controlled oscillator}. I pre- 
sented a temperature-conversion circuit 
of this type in my article "Build a Com- 
puterized Weather Station'' in the 
February 1982 issue. With this type of 
system, the computer on the receiving 
end needs only to determine the fre- 
quency and compare it to a calibration 
table to determine the remote tempera- 
ture.— Steve 

Trump Card for S-100 Bus 

Dear Steve, 

I am an engineer forced into retirement 
by a heart condition several years ago. 
However. I have been interested in elec- 
tronics since about 1927 when my father 
got involved in that field, and it has been 
a hobby of mine ever since. I took several 
night courses at our technical school in 
digital electronics and computers. I in- 
vested in a Heathkit H-100, which is the 
8085/8088 hybrid using the S-100 bus. I 
purchased a couple of 8-inch double- 
sided double-density MPI drives and did 
all my own interfacing. 

Adapting your THimp Card looks rather 
challenging, as 1 would have to wire-wrap 
the board for the S-100 bus. This would 
not deter me, but before I start I would 
like to know whether there would be a lot 
of program adaptation required to use the 
software that you offer with this system. 
Is the BASIC compiler suitable for Micro- 
soft BASIC or, as Heath/Zenith terms its 
version, ZBAS1C? I am not familiar with the 
version that IBM supplies (BASICA), and 
my concern is whether the compiler is 
specific to the IBM version or if it is 
general purpose. Would you venture to 
say how the Z8001 would compare in ex- 
ecution speed on mathematical programs 
compared to the 8087 coprocessor? 

E. G. Hrdlicka 

Edmonton, Alberta, 

Canada 

With your background in interfacing, 
you should have little trouble in convert- 
ing the TYump Card circuit to operate on 
the H-100 bus, and it should be an inter- 
esting project. 

The software-initializing routine called 



394 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



CIARCIA FEEDBACK 



LDSYS and the device driver used by 
PC-DOS wili probably have to be 
modified to run on your system. The 
documentation that accompanies the 
software does not describe these 
routines in any great detail, and this may 
be a problem area depending on your 
programming skills. You will also need a 
514-inch disk drive that can read PC-DOS 
or MS-DOS disks, since this is the only 
format for which you will be able to find 
available software. 

1 am not familiar with ZBASIC syntax, 
but if it is dose to MBAS1C written by 
Microsoft for standard CP/M machines, 
it will be highly compatible with BASICA, 
since MBASIC is practically a subset of 
BASICA. 

The Trump Card will have a higher 
throughput in most applications than the 
8088/8087 combination. This is because 
the 808 7 is used only to perform numeric 
computations, which usually comprise 
only a small part of most BASIC pro- 
grams. The advantages of the 8087 will 
be noted in programs that predominantly 
do number crunching.— Steve 



Trump Card and CP/M-80 

Dear Steve, 

I currently have an IBM PC and a Xerox 
820 printer. With the arrival of your Trump 
Card, I'd like to consolidate as much soft- 
ware as possible in the IBM. Question: 
How good is the CP/M-80 emulator ac- 
companying your Trump Card? Also, is 
there a list of commercial CP/M-80 pro- 
grams that can run under it? Can it han- 
dle all BDOS function calls? Thank you for 
any information you have. 

John M. Allred 
FPO Miami FL 

The CP/M-80 emulator used with the 
Trump Card can run many programs writ- 
ten for a standard CP/M 2.2 environment. 
Typical programs that have been tested 
on the Trump Card are WordStar, Super- 
Calc, and Multiplan. 

Since the CP/M-80 emulator is really a 
Z8001 program that interprets Z80 code 
and emulates it on the Z8001, the per- 
formance of the interpreted programs 
suffers a little in speed of execution. This 



reduction may or may not be noticeable 
to you, depending on how fast your own 
CP/M system is running. 

The emulator handles 28 of the 37 
CP/M 2.2 function calls. The function calls 
not supported are 3 Reader Input, 4 
Punch Output, 7 Get I/O Byte, 8 Set I/O 
Byte, 27 Get Alloc Addr, 28 Write Protect, 
30 File Attributes, 31 Disk Param Addr, 
and 32 User Codes. In addition, the stan- 
dard CP/M BIOS calls dealing with the 
disk, the reader, and the punch are not 
supported by the emulator—Steve ■ 



Over the years i have presented many dif- 
ferent projects in BYTE. I know many of you 
have built them and are making use of them 
in many ways. 

I am interested in hearing from any of you 
telling me what you've done with these proj- 
ects or how you may have been influenced by 
the basic ideas. Write me at Circuit Cellar Feed- 
back, POB 582, Glastonbury, CT 06033 and 
fill me in on your applications. All letters and 
photographs become the property of Steve 
Garcia and cannot be returned. 



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PROGRAMMING INSIGHT 



SIMULTANEOUS 

EQUATIONS WITH 

LOTUS 1-2-3 



by Jan-Henrik Johansson 



An example from macroeconomics 



SPREADSHEETS ARE amazingly use- 
ful in a number of applications. In this 
article, I will show how macroeco- 
nomic models can be formulated as 
simple spreadsheet programs as long 
as they can be defined using just 
linear simultaneous equations. I will 
then go on to show how to solve such 
equations numerically using standard 
spreadsheet commands. 

My inspiration for this article came 
after reading an article by Patrick E. 
McGuire (see reference 3). He pub- 
lished a simple BASIC program that 
solved simultaneous equations 
analytically, and he therefore seemed 
to have solved the problem I was in- 
terested in. But programming every- 
thing in BASIC from now on seemed 
to me to be a step backward. Was 
there a more general approach? I will 
illustrate a different method by using 
only the familiar spreadsheet Lotus 
1-2-3. I will use it to solve systems of 
simultaneous linear equations 
through iteration (successive recalcu- 
lations) rather than through suc- 
cessive transformations of the equa- 
tions. The technique demonstrated 
here is in fact quite general and can 



also be applied to other spreadsheets 
and to many other types of models. 

A Famous 
Macroeconomic Model 

Before describing the solution tech- 
nique in detail, let me describe the 
problem. An area where systems of 
simultaneous equations (even very 
large ones) have become an essential 
vehicle for formulating and analyzing 
relationships is macroeconomics. 
Macroeconomic models describe 
global economic behavior of nations 
and groups of nations. Many models 
with hundreds of equations have 
been developed in efforts to analyze 
and project the economic perfor- 
mance of, for example, the United 
States. One of the first economists to 

\an-Henrik )ohansson (11123 Saffold Way, 
Reston, VA 22090) is a manager in the 
World Bank. He is interested in the use of 
microcomputers for development in the third 
world. The views and interpretations in this 
article are those of the author and should not 
be attributed to the World Bank, its affiliate 
organizations, or to any individual acting on 
their behalf. 



develop major macroeconomic 
models for the U.S., using simulta- 
neous equations as his analytical tool, 
was Professor Lawrence Klein of the 
Wharton School of the University of 
Pennsylvania. His classic model of the 
U.S. consists of a set of 20 simulta- 
neous equations. The work was done 
in the early 1950s (see reference 2). 
As our example, I am using an 
earlier and slightly simpler version 
known as "Klein's model I" (see 
reference I), which I will formulate 
and run in Lotus 1-2-3. 1 will then show 
how to solve this model through itera- 
tion, using nothing but standard Lotus 
1-2-3 commands. The example is im- 
portant because it represents a type 
of application where the need to 
solve simultaneous equations effi- 
ciently has continued to be a key tech- 
nical problem for economists around 
the world. However, you do not need 
to be an economist to understand the 
technique itself. I will ignore the 
economics and concentrate instead 
on demonstrating a general method- 
expecting the method to be applica- 
ble to other problems as well. On the 

[continued) 

FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 399 



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Inquiry 177 



PROGRAMMING INSIGHT 



other hand, if you want to know more 
about macroeconomic models, refer- 
ence 4 is a good book. All the models 
described there can be handled by 
the techniques described in this 
article. 

1 will first define the model by using 
standard college algebra and then 
verify that the equations are circular. 
The circularity is what makes this ex- 
ample interesting. I will then translate 
the equations into an equivalent set 
of spreadsheet formulas. Tkble 1 
shows the equations in algebraic 
form. This version of the model has 
six equations, each defining an eco- 
nomic variable in terms of some other 
economic variables. The equations for 
C(t), I[t). and W(t) have previously been 
estimated from historical data using 
regression. The equations for YR(t), 
Y(t), and K[t) are identity relationships. 
To see the circularity, notice that /(£) 
is defined in terms of K[t) and that K(t) 
is defined in terms of K(t-\) and /(ti- 
the variable we started with. The 
equations are therefore circular. If we 
take a closer look, we will find other 
circularities in the set of equations as 
well. 

But there is more: not only is this 
set of equations circular, it is also 
recursive. That is, the solution to the 
set of equations for a particular time 
period depends on the solution of the 
same equations for preceding time 
periods. In this particular model, only 
one preceding time period is needed 
(referring to, for example, K{t-\)). 
However, it is quite common that one 



has to go back in time more than one 
time period to define the model. Of 
course, the recursion must stop at 
some point in the past. Therefore, in- 
stead of a reference to an earlier 
period, we need an initial numeric 
value to start the process. 

One last point regarding the 
algebraic formulation of the model: 
the equations make use of three 
variables that have no equations. 
They are G(t), W{t). and P(t). These 
variables are input data. In fact, they 
are constants, although they vary from 
one year to the next. These three in- 
put variables are said to be ex- 
ogenous (external to the model), 
while the six variables computed by 
the model are endogenous (internal 
to the model). We now have a model 
and a nomenclature to describe it. 
Let's now translate it to Lotus 1-2-3. 

The reformulation of the equations 
in table 1 as a spreadsheet is straight- 
forward: table 2 displays the formulas 
in columns B, C, and D of the spread- 
sheet. The spreadsheet formulas are 
in fact almost identical to the ones in 
table 1 , except that we have reserved 
extra rows for the exogenous vari- 
ables G[t). W f (t), and P(t) as well as for 
the time period YR\t). No typical 
spreadsheet coordinates are shown 
because I have named every cell in 
column D by the name of the corre- 
sponding variable. If a formula ref- 
erences a cell that has a name, Lotus 
1-2-3 automatically replaces the nor- 
mal coordinate notation by the name 

(continued) 



Table 1: Klein's model I. 


Behavioral equations: 




Consumption function 


C(t) = B0 + B1*P(t) + B2*(W + W')(t) + B3*P(t - 1) + u1 


Investment function 


l(t) = B4 + B5*P(t) + B6*P(t - 1) + B7*K(t - 1) + u2 


Demand for labor 


W(t) = B8 + B9*(Y + T-W')(t) + B10*(Y + T-W')(t-1) + Birt+u3 


Identities: 




Taxes 


T(t) = C(t) + l(t) + G(t)-Y(t) 


Income after fax 


Y(t) = W'(t) + W(t) + P(t) 


Capital stock 


K(t)«K(t-1) + l(t) 


Exogenous data: 


Government expenditure (G), 




Government wage bill (W') and 




Profits (P) 




Regression coefficients: B0 - B11. 




Stochastic disturbances: u1, u2, and u3. 




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FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 401 



PROGRAMMING INSIGHT 



of the cell. This makes the formulas 
more readable and is a practical 
necessity for bigger models. As a 
special trick, I have given names like 
K(~\) to the cells in column C (cor- 
responding to period 1). 

The net result is that Lotus 1-2-3 
displays all formulas in a notation that 
is familiar to economists and almost 
identical to that of table I. We thus 
have six equations with six unknowns 
for each period. Because formulas for 
subsequent periods are structurally 
identical to the ones in column D, it 
is sufficient to list only one column in 
order to display the logic of the 
model. But to solve the model, we must 
explicitly repeat the formulas in col- 
umn D for each time period we are 
interested in. 

Because the formulas for different 
periods reference each other, a solu- 
tion to the model must satisfy all for- 
mulas for all periods at the same time. 
In fact, if we wrote down an algebraic 
formulation of this model in a non- 
recursive form, the total number of 
equations would equal the number of 
equations (six) for each period times 
the number of time periods minus 
four initialized values for the first time 
period. Solving the model for, let us 
say, 24 periods therefore amounts to 
solving a system of linear equations 
with 140 unknowns. The lesson is that 
our rather simple spreadsheet exam- 
ple has revealed considerable under- 
lying complexity and a respectable 



computational problem. Considering 
recursion and circularity how do we 
go about calculating the solution? 

Gauss-Seidel 

A common method used to solve 
complex systems of linear equations 
is the Gauss-Seidel iterative method, 
which roughly goes like this: take an 
arbitrary value (often 0) and use it to 
initialize one or several of the 
unknowns in order to break all cir- 
cularities in the system of equations. 
Now compute the rest of the 
unknowns through simple substitu- 
tion. Obviously, what we have now is 
not a solution because at least one 
unknown has been given an arbitrary 
value. Because of the circular nature 
of the equations, however, we can 
now compute this variable from the 
other variables we just computed. In 
so doing, we will get a better initial 
value to use in a second round with 
the other unknowns. Now repeat the 
process a number of times. During 
each iteration the values tend to 
change less and less. After a certain 
number of iterations, they do not 
change any more. The process has 
converged, and the values are stable. 
We have reached the solution. 

Solving equations through iterations 
is not something one would like to do 
by hand, but a computer can do it, 
and Lotus 1-2-3 does it quite nicely. 
The traditional Gauss-Seidel method 
may sometimes require many itera- 



tions to converge and may therefore 
be quite slow, even on a computer. It 
is not unusual if 40 to 100 iterations 
are needed before a solution is found. 
The better we are at guessing the ini- 
tial values, the fewer iterations we 
need for convergence. In particular, if 
we already have solved the equations 
once and we then introduce a slight 
change to the exogenous data or to 
the equations, the old solution is likely 
to be a good first guess. Taking it as 
our set of initial values (instead of ar- 
bitrary numbers), we will need fewer 
iterations to reach a new solution. 

A spreadsheet gives us the oppor- 
tunity to take advantage of this fact, 
because spreadsheets like Lotus 1-2-3 
always store the results of the last 
computation (the last solution) with 
the formulas. When using a spread- 
sheet, we will always start the itera- 
tions from an approximation that is 
probably close to the solution. The 
only exception to this rule is the first 
time we enter the formulas. By going 
in small steps from solution to solu- 
tion, we can explore the performance 
of our model in a way that is fast 
because we have reduced the total 
number of computations needed. 

Fortunately, this process matches 
well with the way people actually use 
models. Foj example, we may be in- 
terested in how sensitive exports are 
to small changes in exchange rates or 
import tariffs. Or we may want to see 

{continued) 



liable 2: 


A formulation of Klein I in lotus 1-2-3. The exogenous variables G and W' have been given a 


5 percent and 3 


percent annual growth rate, 


respectively. Use of the information in this table is explained in the text box. 




Column B 


Column C 


Column D 




B1: YR = 


C1: 1 


D1; +YR(-1) + 1 




B2: 


C2 




D2: 




B3: C = 


C3 


1.5 


D3: -2.0 + 0.2*P + 0.55*(W + W') + 0.26*P(-1) 




B4: I = 


C4 


3.0 


D4: +1,0 + 0,78*P-0.05*P(-1)-0.02*K(-1) 




B5: G = 


C5 


5.0 


D5: +G(-1)*1.05 




B6: 


C6 




D6: 




B7: W = 


C7 


3.0 


D7: -1.0 + 0.24*(Y + T-W') + 0.2*(Y(-1) + T(-1)-W'(-1)) + 0.1*YR 




B8: W = 


C8 


1.0 


D8: +W'(-1)*1.03 




B9: P = 


C9 


3.0 


D9: 3 




B10: 


C10: 


D10: 




B11: T = 


C11: 


D11: +C + I + G-Y 




B12: Y = 


C12: 


D12: +W + W + P 




B13: K = 


C13: 5.0 


D13: +K(-1) + I 





402 BYTE * FEBRUARY 1985 






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*# 



PROGRAMMING INSIGHT 



Table 3: The solution to Klein I fo 


r 10 time periods using 


the data from table 2. 










Klein's model 1 


YR = 




i 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


3 


9 


10 


Consumption 


C = 




1.500 


1 .620 


1.784 


1.937 


2.094 


2.256 


2.423 


2.596 


2.775 


2.961 


Investment 


1 = 




3.000 


3.090 


3.028 


2.968 


2.908 


2.850 


2.793 


2.737 


2.683 


2.629 


Government expenditure 


G = 




5.000 


5.250 


5.513 


5.788 


6.078 


6.381 


6,700 


7.036 


7.387 


7.757 


Private wage bill 


W = 




3.000 


3.043 


3.309 


3.557 


3.809 


4.070 


4.339 


4.618 


4.907 


5.206 


Government wage bill 


W ' = 




1 .000 


1.030 


1.061 


1.093 


1.126 


1.159 


1.194 


1.230 


1.267 


1.305 


Profits 


P = 




3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


3.000 


Taxes 


T = 




2.500 


2.887 


2.954 


3.044 


3.145 


3.259 


3.384 


3.521 


3.672 


3.836 


Income after tax 


Y = 




7.000 


7.073 


7.370 


7.649 


7.935 


8.229 


8.533 


8.848 


9.173 


9.510 


Capital stock 


K = 




5.000 


8.090 


11.118 


14.086 


16.994 


19.844 


22.637 


25.375 


28.057 


30.686 


Regression coefficients: 






-c- 




- I - 




-W- 
















BO 


= -2.000 B4 


= 1.000 B8 


= -1.000 














B1 


= 0.200 B5 


= 0.780 B9 


= 0.240 














B2 


= 0.550 B6 


= -0.050 B10= 0.200 














B3 


= 0.260 B7 


= -0.020 B11 


- 0.100 











what happens to the model when it 
is exposed to a shock, such as 
quadrupling the oil price or barring all 
sales of grain to the Soviet Union. 

The Real Thing: 
9000 Unknowns 

Experimenting with Klein's model I 
shows that when changing exogenous 
variables we need only 3 to 9 itera- 
tions to reach a new solution from an 
old one. Of course a drastic change 
of exogenous variables may require 
more iterations. For 24 years, one 
iteration takes less than 7 seconds on 
my Compaq. With an average of 5 
iterations required to reach the solu- 
tion, the microcomputer has solved a 
system of simultaneous equations 



that has 140 unknowns in about half 
a minute. A printout showing the 
results for the first 10 years can be 
found in table 3. 

1 have experimented with very large 
models with up to 450 endogenous 
and 100 exogenous variables cover- 
ing a time span of 20 years. Such a 
system has almost 9000 unknowns! 
One complete iteration still takes only 
about 22 seconds, and only 4 to 10 
iterations are required for con- 
vergence. This is fully adequate for 
practical work with realistic models 
and makes our simple spreadsheet 
approach surprisingly competitive 
when compared even to large main- 
frame software packages specifically 
designed to solve macroeconomic 



models. What we have seen is a 
synergism. Iteration is an easy and 
slow method to solve equations. But 
because a spreadsheet by default 
makes a smart guess, we see a drastic 
improvement in efficiency allowing us 
to attack much tougher problems 
than before. 

However, a problem relates to find- 
ing a new solution to the system of 
equations. In the case of a small 
model, like Klein's model I, there is no 
question whether the model has con- 
verged or not. We can simply look at 
the screen and see what happens 
when we give a calculation command. 
When nothing happens, we are done. 
However, it will not take long before 
we have a model that does not fit on 



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TtCORETICAL 

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L L 1 S E C C 



404 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 175 



PROGRAMMING INSIGHT 



Klein's Model I 
in Lotus 1-2-3 



This is a complete step-by-step 
example of how to build and 
execute the model. First, you set up the 
worksheet. When entering the model, 
use the data in table 2. 

1. Type in the variable names in cells 
Bl to B13. 

2. Type in the initial values in cells CI 
to CI 3. 

3. Using the variable name in column 
B and the Lotus / RNC command, name 
all the corresponding cells CI to C13 
as lagged variables (i.e., "YR(-\)',' 
"C(-l)," etc.) and name all cells Dl to 
D13 simply with the variable names 
(i.e., "YR" "C" etc.). 

4. Format the range C3. .D13 to 
display three decimals. 

5. Now enter the model equations in- 
to cells Dl to Dl 3. Because cell names 
have been created earlier, equations 
can now be entered exactly as they are. 

6. Copy the range Dl . .Dl 3 all the way 
to column H. Also, copy Dll and D12 
to Cll and C12, respectively. This ex- 
tends the model to six annual periods. 

7. Hit the Calc key (F9) several times 
and watch the values for year six in col- 
umn H. If the model has been entered 
correctly, you will see the worksheet 
converge. 

8. To run further simulations, change 
some of the initial values. Convergence 
control is still manual. 

Automatic convergence control is next. 
We will use wages in year six (cell H7) 
to check for convergence. 



9. T/pe the formula + H7 into cell Al . 
This will cause Lotus 1-2-3 to start every 
new iteration by copying the result of 
the preceding iteration to Al. The value 
of H7 is then recomputed. The dif- 
ference between Al and H7 is a 
measure of how close we are to a 
solution. 

10. Using /RNC, give the cell Al 5 the 
name " \ S" and enter the test for con- 
vergence: VXI@ABS(A1 -H7)>0.00W 
{CALC}/XG\S'v Translated into 
English, this macro says: if the absolute 
value of the difference between two iterations 
for wages in year six is greater than a certain 
tolerance (0.001), recompute the spreadsheet 
and reevaluate the macro again: otherwise, you 
have found the solution. That is, if the con- 
dition is not met, Lotus 1-2-3 will loop 
over the macro and continue recom- 
puting the worksheet until changes are 
smaller than the tolerance. 

11. To ensure that the value of Al is 
computed before H7, i.e., that the value 
of the old iteration is stored, type 
/WGRC. 

You are now ready to run a simulation. 
The macro we just created will 
automatically control the iteration pro- 
cess for you. 

12. Change the initial value of some 
variable, for example, change G in C5 
from 5.0 to 3.0. 

13. Now execute our macro by typing 
ALTS. We will see the model converg- 
ing and then stop automatically when 
the solution is reached. 



the screen. What we need is some 
kind of convergence-control 
mechanism. The ideal is that Lotus 
1-2-3 keeps iterating until the biggest 
change in any value is smaller than 
some predefined (small) constant. 
Some other spreadsheets (Multiplan, 
for example) have convergence con- 
trol built in, which is a real plus. The 
step-by-step example in the text box 
("Klein's Model I in Lotus 1-2-3") con- 
tains a simple test for convergence 
written in the macro language of 
Lotus 1-2-3. The one-line macro il- 



lustrates the impressive power of the 
macro facility of Lotus 1-2-3. ■ 

REFERENCES 

1. Gujarati. Damodar. Basic Econometrics. 
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978. page 341. 

2. Klein, L. R., and A. S. Goldberger. An 
Econometric Model of the United States, 
1929-1952. New York: North-Holland, 
1955. 

3. McGuire, Patrick E. "A Gauss-jordan 
Elimination Method Program.'' BYTE, 
August 1983, page 394. 

4. Taylor, Lance. Macro Models for Develop- 
ing Countries. New York: McGraw-Hill 1979. 



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Inquiry 289 



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Inquiry 61 



Dumb. 




Stand-alone programs 

can 't be made to work as a system 

no matter how hard you might try, 



Stand-alone programs 
are fine. Unless, of course, 
you need them to work 
together. Because the sum 
of the parts will never equal 
a whole. 

That's why even the 
highly touted WordStar* 



dBase IP and 1-2-3; pro- 
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as a business system. 

They were designed to 
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therefore, make miserable 
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Fortunately, there's a 
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Smart's unique "modular 
integration" is the key to 
productivity. It means that 
The Smart Word Processor, 
The Smart Data Manager 



406 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 











TheSmaii 
Software System 



The fully integrated 

Smart Software System is designed 

to make the whole office more productive. 



and The Smart Spreadsheet 
with Graphics not only have 
the uncompromising power 
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but they also have the unpre- 
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Smart Software 

from Innovative Software 



*1-2-3'T WordStar- and dBase II'" are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation Micro Pro International Corporation and Asnton-Tate respectively ■ 1984 Innovative Software. Inc 



Inquiry 146 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 407 



The Micromint Collection 



-•^ 



TERM-MITE ST 

SMART TERMINAL BOARD 



TERM-MITE is a completely self-contained video 
display controller. 




All you need to butld a Smart Video Terminal equiva 
lent to the types advertised for $1000 or more is a 
Term-Mite ST circuit board, scanned or parallel key 
board, video monitor and power supply. 

Uses brand new Nat'l Semi NS4Q5 Terminal 
Processor. 

■ 24 lines by 80 characters, 25th reverse-video 
status. 

■ Upper & lowercase. Line (block) graphics. 

- Selectable data rate, parity & display options. 

- Reverse video, half intensity, double height & 
width, underline, blinking and/or blank character. 

• Separate sync or composite video output. Self Test. 

TERM-MITE ST Video Display Terminal Board 

BCC22 Assembled & Tested $284. 

BCC23 Complete Kit $244. 



MPX-16 MICROCOMPUTER 
IBM PC COMPATIBLE 




As featured on the cover of BYTE Magazine. Also 
featured in Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar November, 
December 1982 & January f983 



The Computer with a Split Personality 

- Use it as an IBM PC look alike that directly boots 
PC DOS 2.0 and accepts all expansion boards 
designed for the IBM PC. 

- Use it as a powerful 8088 single board computer 
for all your OEM applications. Just add serial ter- 
minal, disk drive and power supply. Directly boots 
CP/M-86. 

Buy the MPX-16 in the form that best meets your 
needs or budget. As a bare board, as a wave soldered 
board that contains all components less ICs, as an 
assembled and tested circuit board or as a complete 
system. 

- Directly boots PC DOS 2.0 and CP/M-86. 

- Most IBM PC software executes with no 
modifications. 

- IBM PC bus compatible +9 expansion slots, 
■ Intel 8088 16-bit microprocessor. 

- Optional Intel 8087 math cocprocessor. 

- 256K bytes on board memory. 

- Up to one megabyte of system memory. 

- Up to 64K bytes of system ROM/EPROM. 

- 2 RS-232C Serial & 3 Parallel I/O ports. 

- Disk controller for 5'/*" or 8" drives. 

- Sixteen levels of vectored interrupts 

MPX 16 Circuit Board Assembled 

w/64K RAM $1,200. 

OEM 1 00 quantity price 840. 

MPX-16 Circuit Bnard Assembled 

w/256K RAM 1,400. 

MPX-16 Semi Kit (wave soldered circuit 

board w/all components) Less ICs ....... 595. 

Complete Kit of ICs w/256K RAM . 595. 

MPX 16 Unpopulated (bare) PC Board .... 300. 

CP/M-86 Operating System + Manuals 80. 

MPX-16 Switching Power Supply 300. 

MPX-16 Technical Reference Manual 50. 

MPX-16 Metal Enclosure with Fan 225. 

Tandon TM 100-2 Double Sided/Density 

Drive 300. 

IBM/PC Keyboard Interface Adapter 100. 



Shipping and handling additional on MPX-16 orders. 



IBM PC is a trademark of International Business Machines Inc. 
CP/M-86 is a trademark of Digital Research Inc. 
Z8 is a trademark of Zilog Inc. 




Z8 COMPUTER SYSTEM 



BASIC System 
Controller 



The Z8 Basic 
System Controller 
is an updated version 
of our popular BCC0T. The price has been reduced 
and features added. The entire computer is 4" by 4%" 
and includes a tiny BASIC interpreter, up to 6K bytes 
of RAM and EPROM, one RS-232C serial port with 
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simply by connecting a C RT terminal. Programs can 
be transferred to 2732 EPRDMs with an optional 
EPROM programmer for auto start applications. Addi- 
tional Z8 peripheral boards include memory expan- 
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Converter and an EPROM programmer. 
■ Uses Zilog Z8 single chip microprocessor. 

- Data and address buses available for complete 

peripheral expansion 
Can be battery operated. 

- Cross assemblers for various computers. Mew 
BCC11 Assembled & Tested $149. Low Price 



FORTH Language Version 



With the new Z8 with on board 4K FO RTH you can 
program high speed control functions in a few simple 
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BCC20 Z8F FORTH Microprocessor chip . $150. 
BCC21 Z8F FORTH System Controller 
(This board is a BCC11 with a BCC20 installed) 



Memory, I/O Expansion, 
Cassette Interface 



■ 8K bytes of additional RAM or EPROM. 

Three additional 8 bit parallel ports. 

Cassette interface - 300 baud K.C. Standard. 
• Software real time clock. 
BCC33 w/0K RAM Assembled & Tested . . $150. 
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Eprom Programmer 



Transfer BASIC or Assembly Language application 

programs from RAM to 2716 or 2732 EPROM. 

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- Requires Z8 I/O Expansion Board for operation. 
BCC07 Assembled & Tested $145. 



Analog to Digital Converter 



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BCC13 Assembled & Tested $140. 



Serial Expansion Board 



- Adds additional RS-232C and opto-isolated 20 ma. 

current loop serial port to the Z8 System. 
■ Runs at 75 to 19,200 baud in all protocols. 

Comes with listings of sample serial I/O routines. 
BCC08 Assembled & Tested $160. 



16K Memory Expansion Board 



Add up to 16K of additional memory, RAM or 

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multiple. 

Accepts 2016, 61 16, 2716, or 2732 memory types. 
- Four 16K cards may be installed on the Z8 System 

bringing the total memory to 64K. 
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• Expand your Z8 BASIC System with minimum 

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Contains five slots complete w/44 pin connectors. 
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Triple Voltage Power Supplies 



+5V <e> 300 ma. +/-12V @ 25 ma. 

UPS01 Assembled & Tested $35. 

UPS02 Complete Kit 27. 

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UPS03 Assembled & Tested 60. 

UPS04 Complete Kit 50. 




SPEECH PRODUCTS 



Lis' ner 1000 
Voice 

Recognition 
Board 



Uses the new, high ^ 

performance SP1000 
voice recognition chip. 

The LIS' NER 1000 provides voice input capability 
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device for application programs or the normal op- 
eration of the computer. 
The LIS' NER 1000 recognition system works 
by analyzing human speech and extracting the 
most important features. These impressions of 
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1 000 supports a 64 word vocabulary in speaker 
dependent, discrete utterance mode. The rec- 
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unit comes with a professional quality head- 
band style electret microphone to assure accu 
racy, software on diskette and a user's manual. 
The APPLE II LIS' NER board has provision for an 
SSI 263 phonetic speech synthesizer chip with text- 
to-speech algorithm. This addition provides all the 
features described for the Sweet Talker II as well 
as speech recognition. 
APPLE II LIS' NER 1000 with SP1000 
recognition/synthesis components only 

VR01 Assembled & Tested $189. 

VR02 Complete Kit $149. 

APPLE II LIS' NER 1000 with SPi 000 
recognition/synthesis components and SSI 263 
phoneme synthesizer chip with text to speech 
algorithm. 

VR03 Assembled and Tested $259. 

VR04 Complete Kit $219. 

COMMODORE 64 LIS' NER 1000 with SP1000 
recognition/synthesis components 

VR10 Assembled & Tested $149. 

VR11 Complete Kit $119. 



Sweet Talker II 

Text to-Speech Synthesizer 




SWEET TALKER II, a 3rd generation speech 
synthesizer, is based on the SSI 263. SWEET 
TALKER II directly drives a speaker to provide 
music, sound effects and continuous speech of 
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50 70 bps. 

SSI 263-based Apple II compatible speech 

speech synthesis board 

- Comes with text-to-speech algorithm on 
disk (DOS 3.3) 

- Appropriate control inputs for mapping with 
several buses 

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Operates on +5 and +12v 
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speech synthesizer with text-to-speech algorithm 
on disk $104. 



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The SC-01A Speech Synthesizer is a completely self 
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100 $30. ea. 

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DC02 IBM PC Complete Kit $264. 

DC03 APPLE II Assembled & Tested .... $299. 
DC04 APPLE II Complete Kit $264 



ULTRASONIC RANGING SYSTEM 



The Micromint Sonar Ranging Experimenter's 
Kit is an updated and higher functioning version of 
the Polaroid SX-70 Camera sonar ranging circuit 
used in the original Polaroid Ultrasonic Ranging 
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The Tl ranging module can function between 4.5 
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one output bit. 

The Sonar Ranging Experimenter's Kit includes 
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with data sheets. 
TI01 Sonar Ranging Experimenters Kit . . . $60. 



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ORIGINATE MODEM KIT 




Micromint's latest 300 Baud Modem Kit is crystal 
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M D 04 Complete Kit as shown $60. 

MD05 Transformer for Direct Connect Mode $9. 
AC01 Acoustic Coupler Kit $20. 



MICROMINT INC. 561 Willow Avenue, 
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To Order: Call Toll Free 1-800-645-3479 
For Information Call: 1-516-374-6793 
Call: Monday-Friday, 9-5 PM 




408 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



Adventure into BBC BASIC 
Miles Ellis and David Ellis. New 
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1984; 
328 pages, 17 by 24.8 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-471-90171-7, 
$14.95. 

American University Pro- 
grams in Computer Science, 
William W. Lau, ed. Fullerton, 
CA: GGL Educational Press, 
1984; 222 pages, 16 by 23.5 
cm. hardcover. ISBN 0-915751- 
25-9. $18. 

Analysis and Simulation 
of Semiconductor Devices, 
Siegfried Selberherr. New 
York: Springer-Verlag, 1984; 
308 pages, 16.8 by 2 5 cm, 
hardcover. ISBN 0-387-81800-6, 
$54. 

Animation, Games, and Sound 
for the TI 99/4A. Tony Fabbri. 
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- 
Hall, 1984; 272 pages, 17.5 by 
23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13- 
037227-7, $14.95. 

Apple Logo for Kids, David 
A. Yule. Blue Ridge Summit, 
PA: Tab Books, 1984, 224 
pages, 18.5 by 23.5 cm. soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-8306-1728-0, 
$11.50. 

Apple to IBM PC Conversion 
Guide. Richard Steck. Glenview, 
1L: Scott, Foresman and Co., 
1984; 112 pages. 19.3 by 23.5 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-673- 
18047-6, $11.95. 

The Apple WordStar Book, 
lerry Mar. Glenview, 1L: Scott, 
Foresman and Co.. 1984; 288 
pages, 19 by 22.8 cm. spiral- 
bound, ISBN 0673-1 5992-2, 
$11.95. 

Applied BASIC for Microcom- 
puters, Roy A. Boggs. Reston, 
VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 
288 pages. 15.3 by 22.8 cm, 
softcover. ISBN 0-83 59-0042-8. 
$16.95. 

Architecture of the 8048, 
Edward W. Page. Beaverton, OR: 
dilithium Press, 1984; 208 



pages, 17.3 by 22.3 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-88056-071-1, 
$19.95. 

Art and the Computer, Melvin 
L. Prueitt. New York: McGraw- 
Hill, 1984; 2 56 pages. 2 5 by 20 
cm, softcover. ISBN 0-07- 
050899-2, $29.95. 

Assembly Language Made 
Easy for the TRS-80, Chao 
Chien. New York: Holt, Rinehart 
and Winston, 1984; 240 pages, 
17.5 by 23.5 cm. softcover, 
ISBN 0-03-070441-3, $18.45. 

Automata. Languages and 
Programming, Jan Parendaens, 
ed. Lecture Notes in Computer 
Science #172. New York: 
Springer-Verlag, 1984; 536 
pages, 16.5 by 24.3 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-387-13345-3. $22. 

BASIC Fun for the Commo- 
dore 64 Beginner, Arthur 
Denzau, Kent Forrest, and 
Robert Parks. Englewood Cliffs, 
NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 2 56 
pages, 17.5 by 23.3 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-13-061441-6, 
$19.95. Includes floppy disk. 

A BASIC Primer for the IBM 
Personal Computer: Program- 
ming Business Applications, 
Donald B. Trivette. Glenview. 1L: 
Scott, Foresman and Co., 1984; 
208 pages, 19.5 by 23 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-673-15997-3. 
$18.95 

Bank Street's Family Computer 
Book, Barbara Brenner with 
Mari Endreweit. New York: 
Ballantine Books. 1984; 272 
pages, 13.5 by 20.8 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-345-31367-4, 
$6.95. 

Beepers: 21 Electronic Proi- 

ECTS FOR THE TlMEX/SlNCLAIR 

1000 and 1500, Gordon 
Rockmaker and Stephen Adams. 



New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984; 
112 pages, 13.8 by 20.3 cm, 
spiral-bound, ISBN 0-07- 
053358-X, $8.95. 

THe Beginner's Computer 
Dictionary, Elizabeth S. 
Wall and Alexander C Wall. 
New York: Avon Books, 1984; 
80 pages, 13 by 19 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-380-87114-9, 
$2.25. 

Book Bytes: The User's Guide 
to 1200 Microcomputer 
Books, 1984 ed., Cris Popenoe. 
New York: Pantheon Books, 
1984; 240 pages, 21 by 27.5 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-394- 
72273-6, $9.95. 

Business Decision Making 
with MulT.«plan, William R. 
Osgood and James F Molloy Jr. 
Somerville, MA: Curtin & 
London and New York: Van 
Nostrand Reinhold, 1984; 152 
pages, 21.5 by 28 cm. softcover, 
ISBN 0-930764-90-0. $19.95. 

Business Graphics with Lotus 
1-2-3. William R. Osgood and 
Dennis P. Curtin. Somerville, 
MA: Curtin & London and New 
York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 
1984, 208 pages, 21.5 by 28 cm, 
softcover, ISBN 0-930764-59-5, 
$19.95. 

Business Problem Solving 
with Lotus 1-2-3, James F 
Molloy Jr. and Dennis P Curtin. 
Somerville. MA: Curtin & 
London and New York: 
Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984; 
208 pages, 21.5 by 28 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-930764-85-4. 
$19.95. 

A Buyer's Guide to Microcom- 
puter Business Software, 
Amanda C Hixson. Reading, 
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1984; 304 
pages, 18 by 23.3 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-201-11065-2. $19.95. 



THIS IS A LIST of books recently received at BYTE Publications. The list is not meant 
to be exhaustive: its purpose is to acquaint BYTE readers with recently published titles in 
computer science and related fields. We regret that we cannot review or comment on all the 
books we receive: instead, this list is meant to be a monthly acknowledgment of these books 

and the publishers who sent them. 



CLU Reference Manual, B. 
Liskov, R. Atkinson. T. Bloom. 
E. Moss, J. C. Schaffert, 
R. Scheifler, and A. Snyder. New 
York: Springer-Verlag, 1981; 200 
pages. 15.5 by 23.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-387-912 53-3, 
$14.95. 

Careers in Computers, Texe 
W Marrs. New York: Simon & 
Schuster, 1984; 160 pages, 
15.5 by 23.5 cm, softcover. 
ISBN 0-671-50221-2, $8.95. 

The Commodore 64 Software 
Buyer's Guide, Gary Phillips, 
Terry Silveria, and Sanjiva K. 
Nath. Bowie, MD: Brady Com- 
munications Co., 1984; 494 
pages, 17.8 by 23.3 cm. soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-89303-382-0, 
$16.95. 

The Commodore 64 Survival 
Manual, Winn L. Rosen. New 
York: Bantam Books, 1984; 2 56 
pages, 15.3 by 22.8 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-553-34127-8. 
$9.95. 

Compaq User's Handbook, 
Weber Systems Inc. staff. New 
York: Ballantine Books, 1984; 
352 pages, 14 by 21.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-345-31841-2, 
$9.95. 

THe Complete Software Mar- 
ketplace, 1984-85. Roger Hoff- 
man. New York: Warner Books, 
1984; 256 pages, 20.5 by 23.3 
cm, softcover. ISBN 0-446- 
38024-5, $17.95. 

THe Computer Alphabet Book, 
Elizabeth S. Wall. New York: 
Avon Books, 1984: 64 pages. 
13 by 19 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-380-87106-8, $2.2 5. 

Computer Based National 
Information Systems, Stephen 
I, Andriole, ed. New York: 
Petrocelli Books. 1984; 176 
pages, 20 by 26 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-89433-255-4, $24.95. 

The Computer Cookbook, 
William Bates. New York: 

[continued] 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 409 



Inquiry 367 



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a message to 
our subscribers 

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available to other companies who wish to send our 
subscribers material about their products. We take great 
care to screen these companies, choosing only those 
who are reputable, and whose products, services, or 
information we feel would be of interest to you. Direct 
mail is an efficient medium for presenting the latest 
personal computer goods and services to our 
subscribers. 

Many BYTE subscribers appreciate this controlled use 
of our mailing list, and look forward to finding 
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BOOKS RECEIVED 



Doubleday and Co., I984; 416 
pages. 20.8 by 27.8 cm. soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-385-19291-6. 
$14,95. 

Computer Craziness. Paul 
Somerson and Stephen Manes. 
New York: Scholastic, 1984; 176 
pages, 20.3 by 27.5 cm, soft- 
cover ISBN 0-590-33175-2, 
$4.95. 

Computer Keyboarding for 
Children, Edward B. Fry. 
New York: Teachers College, 
Columbia University, 1984; 28 
pages. 21.5 by 28 cm, spiral- 
bound, ISBN O8077-2754-7. 
$8.95. 

Computer Monsters, Stephen 
Manes and Paul Somerson. New 
York: Scholastic, 1984; 176 
pages, 20.3 by 27.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-590-33177-9, 
$4,95. 

Computer Olympics, Stephen 
Manes and Paul Somerson. New 
York: Scholastic, 1984; 174 
pages, 20.3 by 27.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-590-33176-0, 
$4.95. 

Computer Programs for the 
Kitchen, Terence R Dicker. Blue 
Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 
1984; 256 pages. 18.8 by 23.3 
cm, softcover. ISBN 0-8306- 
1707-8. $13.50. 

Computer Space Adventures, 
Paul Somerson and Stephen 
Manes. New York: Scholastic, 
1984; 176 pages, 20.3 by 27.5 
cm, softcover. ISBN 0-590- 
33178-7, $4.95. 

Computers and Data Process- 
ing, 2nd ed., H. L. Capron and 
Brian K. Williams. Menlo Park, 
CA: Benjamin/Cummings Pub- 
lishing Co., 1984; 488 pages, 
20.5 by 26.3 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-8053-2214-0, $26.95. 

Computers and Micropro- 
cessors: Components and Sys- 
tems, A. C Downton. Berkshire, 
England: Van Nostrand Reinhold 
(U.K.), 1984; 192 pages. 19 by 
24.5 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-442- 
30572-9, £5.75. 

Computing in Applied Science, 
William 1. Thompson. New York: 
John Wiley & Sons, 1984; 3 52 
pages, 16.5 by 24 cm, hard- 
cover, ISBN 0-471-093 5 5-6, 
$26.95. 



Creating Technical Manuals, 
Gerald Cohen and Donald H. 
Cunningham. New York: 
McGraw-Hill, 1984; 176 pages, 
15 by 22.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-07-011584-2, $16.95. 

EasyWriter Simplified for the 
IBM Personal Computer, Don 
Cassel. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 
Prentice-Hall. 1984; 176 pages, 
17.5 by 2 3.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-13-222431-3. $21.95. 

Experimental Methods of 
Polymer Physics, A. Malkin, A. 
Askadsky. A. Chalykh, and V. 
Kovriga. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 
Prentice-Hall, 1983; 520 pages, 
14.5 by 22 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-13-295485-0, $38.95. 

The Free Software Handbook, 
1984-1985 CP/M Edition, 
Patricia Hatcher and Blake Van 
Meter. Piano, TX: PeopleTalk 
Associates, 1984; 368 pages, 
14 by 21.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-915907-07-0, $17.95. 

At Home with BASIC, Henry 
Mullish and Dov Kruger. New 
York: Simon & Schuster, 1984; 
272 pages, 14.8 by 21.3 cm, 
spiral-bound, ISBN 0-671- 
49861-4, $12.95. 

How Did We Find Out About 
Computers? Isaac Asimov. New 
York: Walker and Co.. 1984; 66 
pages, 14.8 by 21.3 cm, hard- 
cover. ISBN 0-8027-6533-5, 
$8.85. 

How To Document Your Soft- 
ware, Barbara Spear. Blue 
Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books. 
1984; 208 pages. 18.5 by 23.5 
cm. softcover, ISBN 0-8306- 
1724-8. $13.50. 

IBM PC/XT BASIC PRO- 
GRAMMING and Applications, 
Louis Nashelsky and Robert 
Boyiestad. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 
Prentice-Hall, 1984; 320 pages. 
17.8 by 23.3 cm. softcover, 
ISBN 0-13-448325-1, $14.95. 

InfoWorld's Essential Guide 
to Apple, Thorn Hogan and the 
editors of \nfdttorld. New York: 
Harper & Row, 1984; 240 pages, 
18.5 by 23.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-06-669001-3, $16.95. 

InfoWorld's Essential Guide 
to CP/M, Tony Bove. Cheryl 
Rhodes, and the editors of Info- 
World. New York: Harper & Row, 



410 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 91 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



1984; 254 pages, 18.5 by 23.5 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-06- 
669003-X, $16.95. 

InfoWorld's Essential Guide 
to the IBM PC. Frank I. Derfler 
Jr. and the editors of InfdNorld. 
New York: Harper & Row, 1984; 
256 pages, 18.5 by 23.5 cm. 
softcover, ISBN 0-06-669002-1, 
$16.95. 

Inside CP/M-86: A Guide for 
Users, David E. Cortesi. New 
York; Holt, Rinehart and 
Winston. 1984; 224 pages. 
19 by 23.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-03-062656-0, $17.45. 

Inside Commodore DOS, 
Richard Immers and Gerald G. 
Neufeld. Chatsworth, CA: 
Datamost, 1984; 512 pages, 17.8 
by 2 5.3 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-88190-366-3, $19.95. 

Instant Wordstar for the Kay- 
pro, Robert Wolenik. Reston, 
VA: Reston Publishing, 1984; 
144 pages. 15 by 22.8 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-83 59-3090-4, $1 5.95. 

Invitation to MVS: Logic & 
Debugging, Harry Katzan Jr. and 
Davis Tharayil. New York: 
Petrocelli Books. 1984; 256 
pages, 16 by 24 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-89433-081-0, $29.95. 

Job Control Language, 2nd 
ed.. Ruth Ashley and Judi N. 
Fernandez. New York: John 
Wiley & Sons, 1984; 168 pages, 
17 by 2 5.3 cm, softcover. 
ISBN 0-471-79983-1, $12.95. 

The Joy of Computer Chess, 
David Levy. Englewood Cliffs, 
NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 144 
pages, 13.5 by 21.5 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-13-511619-8, $7.95. 

Kids & Computers: Advanced 
Programming Handbook, 
Eugene Galanter. New York: 
Perigee Books, 1984; 224 pages, 
17.5 by 23.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-399-50976-3, $7.95. 

Let's Learn BASIC: A Kids' 
Introduction to BASIC 
Programming on the Apple II 
Series, Ben Shneiderman. 
Boston, MA: Little, Brown 
and Co., 1984; 208 pages. 
19 by 23.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-316-78721-3, $8.95. 

Let's Learn BASIC: A Kids' 
Introduction to BASIC 



Programming on the Atari 
Home Computers. Ben 
Shneiderman. Boston, MA: 
Little. Brown and Co, 1984; 
208 pages. 19 by 23.5 cm. soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-316-78722-1. 
$8.95. 

Lotus 1-2-3 for Marketing and 
Sales, Michael V. Laric and 
Ronald Stiff. Englewood Cliffs. 
NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 240 
pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-13-540899-7, 
$14.95. 

Machine Intelligence 10. 
Intelligent Systems: Practice 
and Perspective, J. E. Hayes, D. 
Michie, and Y-H Pao, eds. New 
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1982; 
582 pages. 15.8 by 2 5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-470-27323-2, 
$109.95. 

Managing Your Business with 
Multiplan, Ruth K. Witkin. 
Bellevue, WA: Microsoft Press, 
1984; 430 pages, 18.8 by 23.3 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-914845- 
06-3, $17.95. 

Microcomputers Go to 
School, Stanton Leggett, ed. 
Chicago, IL: Teach em, 1984; 
248 pages. 13.5 by 21.5 cm. 
softcover, ISBN 0-931028-53-1, 
$16.95, 

Le Microprocesseur 16 Bits 
8086/8088, Alain-Bernard 
Fontaine. Paris, France: 
Masson, 1984; 238 pages, 
16 by 23.8 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 2-22 5-80313-7, 
108 francs. 

Microprocessors in Industry, 
Michael F Hordeski. New York: 
Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984; 
542 pages, 16 by 23.5 cm, hard- 
cover, ISBN 0-442-23207-1. 
$49.50. 

Minute Manual for PFS: File/ 
Report/Graph/Write, Jeffery 
Lesho and Jim Pirisino. Colum- 
bia, MD: MinuteWare, 1984; 184 
pages, 13.5 by 21.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-913131-03-2, 
$12.95. 

A Model-Management Frame- 
work for Mathematical Pro- 
gramming. Kenneth H. Palmer. 
New York: John Wiley & Sons, 
1984; 416 pages, 17 by 24 cm, 
hardcover, ISBN 0-471-80472-X. 
$42.50. 

{continued) 



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Panasonic KXP1090 


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Epson RX80 FT 


291 


Powertype 


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Silver Reed EXP 550 


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Epson RX80 


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Daisywriter 


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Epson RX100 


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Brother HR15 


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Brother HR25 


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Diablo 620 API 


684 


Nee 7715 


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456 


Mannesman Spirit 80 


233 


OKI 84 


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Mannesman 160L 


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Panasonic KXP 1093 


567 


Gemini 15X 


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Panasonic KXP 1092 


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Toshiba 1340 


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DynaxDX15 


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Silver Reed EXP400 


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Anadex9625B 


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NEC 8850 


1754 


HP LaserJet 


3021 


Epson QX 10 


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Pinwnler P3 


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859 


PCvWDrive 


1299 


Zenith PC 2150 


1631 


Macintosh 


1689 


PC XT 


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Zen.th PC 15152 


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Apple 2C 


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PC Portable w/Drive 


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249 


310 Amber 


139 


1541 Disk Drive 


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229 


Color 300 


229 


1702 Monitor 


208 


Tallgrass20 Meg 


2399 


Color 500 


324 


MPS801 Printer 


179 


Quad Board 


224 


Color 600 


384 


1526 Printer 


215 


Paradise 


254 


Color 700 


489 






Keytronics 


199 


Color 710 


529 


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Zenith Green 


74 


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107 


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209 


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219 


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409 


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159 


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234 


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Inquiry 132 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYT E 411 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



More Color Computer Appli- 
cations, John P. Grillo and J. D. 
Robertson. New York: John 
Wiley & Sons. 1984; 176 pages, 
17 by 2 5.3 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-471-80767-2, $39.90, 
Includes floppy disk, 

MULTIPLAN FOR MARKETING AND 

Sales, Michael V. Lane. 
Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice- 
Hall. 1984; 320 pages. 17.8 by 
2 3.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13- 
605080-8, $14.95. 

Multiplan: Home and Office 
Companion, Elna Tymes and 
Peter Anton iak. Berkeley, CA: 
Osbome/McGraw-Hill, 1984; 246 
pages, 20.5 by 27.5 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-88134-133-9. 
$15.95. 

New Horizons in Educa- 
tional Computing, Masoud 
Yazdani, ed. New York: John 
Wiley & Sons. 1984; 320 
pages, 17 by 24.5 cm. hard- 
cover, ISBN 0-470-20022-7, 
$44.95. 



The Osborne/McGraw-Hill 
Business System Buyers 
Guide. 2nd ed. Adam Osborne, 
Steve Cook, and Gail Todd. 
Berkeley, CA: Osborne/ 
McGraw-Hill, 1984; 182 
pages, 16.3 by 23.3 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-88134-12 5-8, 
$10.95 

PEAS Structural Analysis 
Series: Apple II or He Version, 
Practical Engineering Applica- 
tions Software (PEAS). New 
York; John Wiley & Sons, 1984; 
88 pages, 14.8 by 22.8 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-471-80290-5. $30, 
Includes floppy disk. 

Personal Finance Programs 
for Home Computers, William 
S. Hodges and Meal A. Novak. 
Boston, MA: Little, Brown 
and Co., 1984; 192 pages. 
21.5 by 27.8 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-316-36788-5, $14.50. 

THE Power of: Appleworks, 
Robert E. Williams. Englewood 
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hail, 1984; 



240 pages, 21 by 27.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-13-688045-2, 
$19.95. 

Power Up! Kids' Guide to 
the Commodore 64, Marty 
Delonghe and Caroline Earhart. 
Berkeley, CA: Sybex, 1984; 204 
pages, 18 by 22.8 cm. spiral- 
bound, ISBN 0-89588-188-8. 
$14.95. 

A Practical Guide to the 
Apple lie, Peter C Weiglin and 
ioyce Conklin. Reading, MA: 
Addison-Wesley, 1984; 176 
pages. 18.8 by 2 3.5 cm, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-201-09660-9. 
$12.95. 

Presentation Graphics on 
the Apple Macintosh, Steve 
Lambert. Bellevue, WA: Micro- 
soft Press, 1984; 288 pages. 
18.8 by 23.3 cm, softcover, ISBN 
0-914845-1 1-X, $18,95 

probots and people: the age 
of the Personal Robot, 
Timothy O. Knight. New York: 



McGraw-Hill, 1984; 144 pages, 
13.5 by 20.3 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-07-035106-6. $9.95. 

Programmable Assembly, W. B. 
Heginbotham, ed. New York: 
Springer-Verlag, 1984; 368 
pages, 16 by 24 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-387-13479-4, $43. 

Programming Apple BASIC, 
John I. DiElsi. Elaine S. 
Grossman, John P. TUcciarone. 
New York: Holt, Rinehart and 
Winston, 1984; 464 pages, 
17.8 by 23.3 cm, softcover. 
ISBN 0-03-063733-3. $18.45. 

Programming in C on the IBM 
PC, Bryan J. Cummings and 
Lawrence Pollack. Englewood 
Cliffs. NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1984; 
208 pages, 15 3 by 22.8 cm, 
softcover, ISBN 0-13-7293 51-8, 
$14.95. 

Should 1 Buy a Home Com- 
puter? A Guide with Check- 
lists. Lincoln Hallen. Princeton. 
NJ: Petrocelli Books, 1984; 



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412 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



104 pages. 14 by 20.8, soft- 
cover. ISBN 0-89433-2 57-0. 
$8.95. 

Small-Ume Operator: The 
Computer Edition, Bernard 
Kamoroff. South Bend, 
IN: and books, 1984; 306 
pages, 21 by 27 cm, spiral- 
bound, ISBN 0-89708-1 17-X. 
$19.95. 

Software Defect Removal, 
Robert Dunn. New York: 
McGraw-Hill. 1984: 3 52 
pages, 15.5 by 23 cm, hard- 
cover. ISBN 0-07-018313-9, 
$29.95, 

A Software Law Primer, 
Frederic William Neitzke. New 
York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 
1984: 170 pages, 16 by 23.5 cm. 
hardcover, ISBN 0-442-26866-1. 
$24.95. 

The Software Marketplace: 
Where To Sell What You 
Program. Suzan D. Prince. 
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984; 



220 pages. 16 by 23 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-07-050859-3, 
$16.95. 

Structure and Interpretation 
of Computer Programs, 
Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay 
Sussman with Julie Sussman. 
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 
1985; 564 pages. 16 by 23.5 
cm. hardcover, ISBN 0-262- 
01077-1, $30. 

Structured Programming with 
Basic for the Acorn Com- 
puter, Roy Atherton. New York: 
John Wiley & Sons. 1984; 208 
pages, 17 by 2 5.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-471-80600-5, $15.95. 

Tl Logo, Harold Abelson. New 
York: McGraw-Hill, 1984; 2 56 
pages, 18 by 23.5 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-07-038459-2, $17.95. 

Take It with You: THe 
Complete Guide to Portable 
Business Computing, Richard 
M. Grelewicz. New York: John 
Wiley & Sons, 1984; 264 pages. 



15 by 22.8 cm, softcover, 
ISBN 0-471-88198-8, $14.95. 

The Time-Life Step-by-Step 

Guide to the Commodore 64, 
the editors of Time-Life, New 
York: Random House, 1984; 102 
pages, 21 by 24 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-394-72515-8, $12.95. 

The Time-Life Step-by-Step 
Guide to the IBM PC the 
editors of Time-life, New York: 
Random House, 1984; 102 
pages. 21 by 24 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-394-72521-2, $12.95. 

The Time-Life Step-by-Step 
Guide to the IBM PCir. the 
editors of Time-Life, New York: 
Random House, 1984; 102 
pages, 21 by 24 cm, hardcover, 
ISBN 0-394-72519-0, $12.95. 

La Transportability du 
Logiciel, Olivier Lecarme and 
Mireille Pellissier. Paris, France: 
Masson, 1984; 264 pages, 16 by 
24 cm, softcover, ISBN 2-22 5- 
80223-8, 140 francs. 



Turtlesteps: An Introduction 
to Apple logo and Terrapin 
Logo, Pamela Sharp. Bowie, 
MD: Brady Communications Co., 
1984; 210 pages, 17.8 by 23.3 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-89303- 
906-3, $14.95. 

Using the IBM Personal 
Computer: EasyWriter, Ada W. 
Finifter. New York: Holt, 
Rinehart and Winston, 1984; 318 
pages, 17.8 by 23.5 cm, soft- 
cover, ISBN 0-03-063736-8, 
$18.45. 

VIC 20 Computer Graphics 
Toolbox, Russell L. Schnapp 
and Irvin G. Stafford. Engle- 
wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 
1984; 192 pages. 17.8 by 23.3 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-13- 
941998-5, $14.95. 

Word Processing with Your 
Adam, Barbara Spear. Blue 
Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 
1984; 160 pages, 18.5 by 23.5 
cm, softcover, ISBN 0-8306- 
1766-3, $9.25. ■ 







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Inquiry 1 49 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 413 



INTRODUCING 

Interface Technologies' Modula-2 

Software Development System 

The computer press is hailing Modula-2 as "the next 
standard in programming languages." Modula-2 
combines the strengths of Pascal with the features 
that made C so popular, like independent 
compilation and direct hardware control. 

But until today, no company offered a 
Modula-2 system that made the development 
of software fast, easy and efficient. Now, 
though, there's a new tool at your disposal. 



The fast, powerful tool 
for programmers 



And if you leave an undefined variable or data type, 
the editor detects the mistake and gives you the option 
of on-line "help" to correct it. No other programming 
text editor offers you so much innovation at any price. 

How to turn "wait time" 
into "work time" 




The breakthrough is here: Interface Technologies' 
new Modula-2 Software Development System for 
the IBM® PC, XT, AT and compatible 
computers to give programmers the same 
quantum leap in productivity spreadsheets 
and word processors gave to end-users. It 
can reduce monotonous wait time, will 
dramatically increase speed, help stop 
thoughtless mistakes, and free you to become more 
creative in virtually all of your programming efforts. 

How to speed input and 
eliminate 30% of errors 

Thirty percent of programming mistakes are syntax 
errors and simple typos in the program structure. Our 
"syntax-directed" Modula-2 editor does away with 
these time-consuming headaches once and for all. 

It speeds input by 
cutting manual typing 
as much as 90%, letting 
you enter statements 
fwith a single keystroke. 
For example, if you type 
a capital "I" to begin a 
line, the editor completes 
the logical "IF THEN" 
statement automatically, so 
r you can concentrate on what you 
Enter complete statements want to program, rather than con- 
with one keystroke. centrate on what you're typing. 

The editor locks out errors, finishing statements and 
procedures in perfect accord with the standardized 
rules of Modula-2. It also indents and formats your 
text automatically, making programs easy to read and 
maintain, an important feature on big projects. 




The vast majority of 
programming time is 
spent waiting, and the 
biggest slowdown is most 
often with compilers. 



It not only has a faster compiler, it also 
saves time by compiling while you edit. 






Our compiler turns 
wait time to work time 
with a new innovation 
that lets you compile 
in the "background." 

With background 
compilation, your program is automatically compiled 
into object code line by line as you work, every minute 
you spend writing or editing a Modula-2 program! 

When you're finished editing, all that's left for the 
compiler is a quick mopping up job that generates 
optimized native code in a single pass. 

How quick is "quick"? 

Thanks to background compilation and the fact that 
the compiler itself is so fast, Interface Technologies' 
compiler turns 100 lines of typical Modula-2 text 
into optimized machine code in under five seconds. 

Plus the Interface compiler produces compact code 
with execution speed superior to that produced by any 
other Modula-2 compiler on the market. 

How to do two things at once 

Along with the background compiler and syntax- 
directed editor, which can save you hours every day and 
make you more productive, Interface Technologies' 
Software Development System gives your monitor 



414 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



windows so you can refer to one file while you edit 
another simultaneously, saving you even 
more time. 

Concurrent editing of two 
or more files is especially use- 
ful when doing programming 
work that's intended for 
separate compilation, and 
Interface Technologies has 
the only Modula-2 system 
on the market that provides 
you with this helpful benefit 
for developing software. 




Work with multiple files 
faster, easier in windows. 



How preprogrammed modules 
speed development 

One of the advantages of Modula-2 is that it lets you 
build large, reliable programs quickly, by linking 
together many smaller "building-block" modules. 

The development system's toolkit of precompiled 
program modules includes the standard Modula-2 
library, and adds exclusive link-and-run modules for 
direct calls to the operating system, sound, and color 



You can use it on any IBM® PC, XT, AT or 
compatible computer with two double- sided, double- 
density floppy drives and 320K RAM diskette. 

You get a thoroughly indexed, comprehensive user's 
manual and free telephone support from Interface 
Technologies. But the most important thing you get is 
the future, and the programming language of the future 
is Modula-2, and now it's easier than ever. 

For more information, or to order the Modula-2 
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Operates on the new 

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graphics support. 
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The Modula-2 development system '$ toolkit of 
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Increase productivity for $249 

Interface Technologies' Software Development 
System is fast, powerful and unlimited. It works so well 
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write business and consumer applications in Modula-2. 

For $249, you get the syntax-directed editor and 
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Inquiry 154 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 415 



LETTERS 



(continued from page 32) 

Benchmarking 
UNIX Systems 



Thanks to David F. Hinnant's excellent ar- 
ticle, "Benchmarking UNIX Systems" 
(August 1984. page 132). I feel I gained 
an awareness of the limitations and advan- 
tages of the different UNIX/machine com- 
binations. The results are a great reference 
guide. However. 1 was a little surprised by 
the lack of a System V version (the 
standard-to-be one), which motivated me 
to run all the benchmark programs speci- 
fied in the article on an NCR Tower (an 
M68000-based computer} under UNIX 
System V. Table 1 shows my findings. For 
the tests I used 2 megabytes of RAM and 
one 30-megabyte hard disk. 

The values obtained fall about midway 
between systems 6 and 7 when plotted on 
the graph in figure i on page 408. 

1 was rather pleased with these results, 
since my Tower was, according to Hin- 
nant's tables, among the top seven most 
powerful systems. I hope this small exten- 
sion of Mr. Hinnant's work will be very 
useful to all System V users, because this 
version is intended to standardize the 
UNIX world. 

Mario Descalzi 
Columbia, SC 



Table 1: NCR Tower per 


formance 


using UNIX benchmarks discussed in 


"Benchmarking UN 


IX Systems'.' 




real 


user sys 


1. Pipe 


61 


0.0 2.8 


2. System Calf 


13.8 


0.5 13 2 


3. Function Call 


* 7 


1.6 0.0 


4. Sieve 


4.5 


4.3 0.1 


5a. Disk Write 


3.4 


0.0 1.3 


5b. Disk Read 


5.3 


0.0 2.0 


6, Shell 


9.1 


0.4 2.2 


7. Loop 


13.4 


12.8 0.1 


Number of Concurrent Processes 


1 2 3 


4 


5 6 


9.8 16.0 22.2 


35.3 


442 52.2 



A Call for Standards 

In a computer system, dates can be kept 
in many different ways. If "DD ' represents 
day, "MM month, and "YY" the year, let 
me define the British way as "MMDDYY." 
the French way as "DDMMYY." and the 
standard international way as "YYMMDD." 
Despite its universality and advantages for 
sorting, the last one is not used by MS- 



DOS, dBASE. or Quickcode (to name just 
a few). 

Let me ask both software and hardware 
developers to stick to international stan- 
dards. Let me further suggest that they 
keep dates as numeric values (taking ad- 
vantage of most keyboards' numeric lock- 
ing feature) and automatically enforce 
month and day values smaller than 13 and 
32. respectively. Zeros could be allowed 
for month and day when their values are 
unknown. 

Paul-Andre Desjardins 
Rabat, Morocco 



Computer User. A third magazine that quit 
publishing (Basic Computing) did have the 
professional integrity to transfer its sub- 
scriptions to another magazine. 

Maybe I have been a victim of a freak 
set of circumstances, but 1 don't think so. 
I believe this is the trend of the future. I 
hope not. but there doesn't seem to be 
much a consumer can do once the maga- 
zine has your money. It's obvious that bad 
management is ever present even in the 
computer-magazine industry. 

Steve Hermes 
Bloomington, IL 



Enhancing Perfect Writer FORTH Conference 



In the August 1984 BYTE. Barry D. Smith 
wrote about reconfiguring Kaypro's key- 
pad for use with Perfect Writer (Recon- 
figuring Perfect Writer Commands.' page 
22). 

To anyone using Perfect Writer on a Kay- 
pro. I recommend the inexpensive en- 
hancements available from Plu* Perfect 
Systems (Box 1494. Idyllwild, CA 92349). 
While running the word-processing pro- 
gram, keys can be defined, files printed 
or erased, disks changed, and the direc- 
tory accessed. Key definitions also can be 
saved and automatically loaded. The swap 
file can be increased in size up to an en- 
tire disk. 

Plu* Perfect recommends erasing Perfect 
Writer's menu to provide space on the disk 
for key definitions and other files. Every- 
thing that can be done through the menu 
can be done more quickly at the system 
level. 

Documentation and user support is ex- 
cellent. I have been using the enhance- 
ments for nearly a year and wouldn't do 
without them. 

|AMES SWANSON 

McBride, British Columbia, Canada 

Subscriber s Lament 

My letter is one of caution to other 
readers of computer magazines. My ex- 
perience with computers and the com- 
puter-magazine industry goes back only 
about four years, and in this period of time 
1 have subscribed to at least eight different 
publications, most of which are good 
sources of information and education, 
especially yours. But something less than 
professional is happening within this 
industry. 

In the past six months 1 have had the 
unfortunate experience of being a sub- 
scriber to two publications that just quit 
sending out their magazines; CLDAD and 



The fifth Rochester FORTH Conference will 
be held at the University of Rochester, 
Rochester. New York. June 12-15, 1985. 
Sponsored by the Institute for Applied 
FORTH Research Inc., the focus of the con- 
ference will be on software engineering 
and software management. 

There is a call for papers on the follow- 
ing topics: 

•software engineering and software man- 
agement practices 

•FORTH applications, including, but not 
limited to: real-time business, medical, 
space-based, laboratory and personal sys- 
tems: and FORTH microchip applications 
•FORTH technology, including finite-state 
machines, metacompilers. FORTH imple- 
mentations, control structures, and hybrid 
hardware/software systems 

Papers may be presented in either plat- 
form or poster sessions. Please submit a 
200-word abstract by March 30, 1985. 
Papers must be received by April 30, 
1985, and are limited to a maximum of 
four single-spaced, camera-ready pages. 
Longer papers may be presented at the 
conference but should be submitted to 
the refereed journal of FORTH Application and 
Research. 

Abstracts and papers should be sent to 
the conference chairman: Lawrence P. 
Forsley, Laboratory for Last Energetics, 
2 50 East River Rd.. Rochester, NY 14623. 
For more information, call or write Ms. 
Maria Gress, Institute for Applied FORTH 
Research, 70 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, 
NY 14611. (716) 235-0168. 

Adding a Hard Disk 

In Roy M. Matney's excellent article, 'Add- 
ing a Hard Disk'* (October 1984, page 
203), he reiterated a common misunder- 
standing about my software product, The 
Norton Utilities. I would like to explain 



416 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



LETTERS 



what my programs can and cannot do, and 
why. 

As many of your readers know, my Nor- 
ton Utility programs provide file recovery 
(UnErase) and disk exploration (DiskLook) 
features for the IBM PC family. However, 
in the past they have not worked on most 
unconventional disks: RAM disks, quad- 
density disks, [FORMAT lOsector disks, or 
any hard disk that wasn't in one strict 
format. 

Many people— including Mr. Matney— 
have assumed that this was because my 
programs worked "below the BIOS." Ac- 
tually not, All disk operations were done 
through conventional PC BIOS services. 
My programs did not work on more disk 
formats for a much worse reason: simply 
because I had coded these programs 
rather rigidly on the framework of five 
standard IBM disk formats. It was a lack 
of flexibility in my programming that 
restricted their use from wide application. 

I am happy to say that I have mended 
my ways. Version 3 of my Utilities does all 
of its disk work completely at the DOS 
level (a full level higher than the BIOS) and 



is carefully written to adjust to any reason- 
able disk format. The version 3 programs 
run beautifully on RAM disks, partitioned 
hard disks, the PC AT's 1.2-megabyte high- 
capacity disk, quad-density micro disks 
(such as those in the Data General/One), 
and many others. 

Version 3 of the Norton Utilities is in 
beta test as I write this and is planned to 
be released to the public in mid- 
December 1984. Owners of old versions 
can upgrade for a $2 5 charge. 

For those who are interested, here is a 
summary of what's new in version 3: the 
programs automatically adjust to the for- 
mat of the disk they are working with; the 
programs are virtually DOS-generic, so 
that they would work on nearly any MS- 
DOS computer; a new set of disk-manage- 
ment services, dubbed the "hard disk 
helpers," has been added; overall, the 
character of these programs has been 
shifted toward the needs of nonexpert 
computer users: the programs are easier 
to understand and use and have features 
with broader appeal. I'm not leaving the 
experts unsatisfied, though: my beta- 



testers, experts all, have been giving ver- 
sion 3 lots of applause. 

Peter Norton 
Santa Monica, CA 

I enjoyed Roy Matney's informative arti- 
cle, 'Adding a Hard Disk," on hard-disk up- 
grades. However, it is incorrect to say that 
the Norton Utilities will not work with our 
controller. The Norton program is expect- 
ing 305 DOS cylinders, no more, no less. 
Our system gives you more than that. By 
using FDISK.COM to reduce the number 
of DOS cylinders to 305, the Norton Utili- 
ties will perform as expected. 

Chris Tipton 

Director of Technical Support 

Maynard Electronics 

Casselberry, FL 

Cluster Analysis 

Rob Spencer's article, "Cluster Analysis" 
(September 1984, page 129), is a jewel. In 
the midst of all the recent articles on struc- 
turing BASIC by executing subroutines 

{continued) 



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tion integration. 

MULTI USER SOFTWARE USING MSDOS 
FORTUNE 1500 
COMPANIES- 
LET US SOLVE YOUR 
SYSTEM NEEDS! 



Special Sale Items 



high quality 
diskettes... 

51/4" DSDD Soft Sector w/Hub Ring 

Bulk (min.20) $1.49 ea. 

DYSAN, 3M CALL 

Maxwell for IBM AT 6.75 ea. 

IW* SS for APPLE etc 4.50 ea. 



TELECOMMUNICATION 



$470 



STUDENT 
BACK 
TO 
SCHOOL 
SPECIAL 

ZENITH ZT1 terminal built in modem, 
auto dial your school computer 



PORTABLES 

Columbia, Eagle, NEC PC 8021, ZENITH, 
TELEVIDEO, COMPAQ, CORONA, 
LASER PRINTERS (HI-RES) 
DESKTOPS: IBM PC/AT, ZENITH, 

APPLE, ETC CALL 

TERMINALS, PRINTERS, MODEMS, 
PLOTTER, DIGITIZERS 



Inquiry 63 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTL 417 



Call Oryx and order by phone 
. . .without a single hang-up! 



IBM/PC 
SOFTWARE 



Alpha Software 

Data BaseMgr II $179 

Arrays, Inc 

Home Acct. + $ 95 

Home Acct. w/ 
Tax Advntg $139 

Central Point 

Copy II PC $34 

CompuView 

Vedit $130 

Vedit+.. 179 

VPrint 65 

Connecticut Software 

Printer Boss 

w/ Letter Boss $ 79 

Above w/ Side Kick... 119 

Creative Software 

Creative Filer $ 39 

Creative Calc 39 

Creative Writer 39 

Creative Bundle Box 
(Filer, Calc, Writer).... 109 

Digital Research 

Concurrent CPM/86... $240 

CP/M-86 49 

C Language/ Comp.... 240 
Others Call 

Dow Jones 

Market Analyzer $229 

Market Manager 1 89 

Spreadsheet Link 179 

Ecosoft, Inc 

Microstat $259 

Electronic Arts 

Get Organized $159 

Enertrontcs 

Energraphics $259 

w/ Plotter Option 299 

Fattware Thor (the 
thought organizer.... $245 

Financier, Inc 

Financier II ...$119 

Fox & Geller 

Grafox $189 

RGraph (for 

R-base4000) $175 

FYI 

Superfile.. $149 

FYI 3000 287 

Sort Facility ... 99 

Harvard Software 

Project Manager $249 

Lifetree 

Volkswriter Deluxe $179 

Volkswriter Scientific . . 359 



Living Videotext 

Think Tank (256K) $139 

MDBS 

Knowledge Man $299 

Menlo Corp. 

In Search $299 

Micropro 
Wordstar ProPak 

(WS, CS, MM,SI} $299 

Wordstar 199 

Professional 

Options Pak $129 

ProPak Plus (WS, 

CS, MM, SI,TM) $399 

TeleMerge 109 

Microrim 

R-base4000 $279 

R-base Clout 169 

R-Writer 99 

Prog Interface 259 

Microsoft 

Flight Simulator II $ 39 

Project 1.01 199 

C Comp 309 

Basic Comp 249 

Word 1.15 229 

MuMath/MuSimp 199 

(All Microsoft products 
provided in MS DOS .J 
Morgan Computing 

Prof Basic $ 79 

Trace 86 99 

Pathfinder 59 

Muitimate Call 

Northwest Analytical 

Statpak ...$365 

Peter Norton Computing 

Norton Utilities $ 55 

Peachtree 

PeachText 5000 $249 

Series 8 Account- 
ing Modules $389 

Samna Corp. 

Samna Word + $229 

Samna Word II 369 

Samna Word III 439 

Satellite Software 

WordPerfect w/Sp... $255 

Software Arts 

Spotlight $109 

Software Publishing 

PFS: File, Graph 

Write, Plan ea $ 89 

PFS: Report 79 

PFS: Access, Proof 69 

Sorcim 

Supercalc III $249 

Star Software Systems 

Acct'g Partner $229 

Acct'g Partner II 659 



Supers oft 

C Compiler -8086.... $350 

Wang Software 

Grammatik $ 60 

Proofreader.... 42 

Warner Software 

Desk Organizer $219 

Westminster Software 

Pertmaster Call 

. . .and many more! 



APPLE 
SOFTWARE 

Alpha Software 

Apple-IBM 

Connection $169 

Typefaces 69 

Arrays, Inc 

Home Acct $ 59 

FCM 79 

BPI Call 

Broderbund 

Bank Street Writer .... $ 45 
Bank Street Speller.... 45 
Others Call 

Cdex 

All Trng Prog's ea $ 49 

Central Point 

Copy II + $ 34 

Digital Research Call 

Dow Jones 

Market Analyzer $229 

Market Manager 189 

Spreadsheet Link 179 

Eduware Call 

Living Videotext 

Think Tank $ 99 

Micropro 

Pro Pak (WS, 

SS, MM, SI) $349 

Microsoft Call 

Peachtree 

Back to Basics $149 

PeachPak 

Series 40 or 80 $239 

Penguin Software .. . Call 

Sierra 

Frogger $ 25 

Software Publishing 

PFS: File, Graph, 
Report ea$ 79 

Spinnaker Call 

Xerox Education 

Sticky Bear Series.. ea $ 35 



CP/M 
SOFTWARE 



dBASE II CORNER 

Anderson-Bell 

Abstat $289 

Ash ton -Tate 

dBase II Call 

dBase ill Call 

Framework Call 

Friday Call 

Fox & Geller 

dGraph .$169 

Quick Code 169 

dUtil 58 

Human Soft 

DBPlus. $ 90 

Sensible Designs 

dProgrammer $ 1 99 



All prices below are for 
8" standard. 

ATI 

All Trng Progs ea $ 52 

CompuView 

V-Edit8080 $130 

V-EditCP/M86 130 

Digital Research 

Pascal MT+w/SPP... $389 
DR Assembler & Tools 1 49 

CP/M 2.2 125 

C Basic 115 

PL/1-80 375 

Personal Basic 120 

Access or 

Display Mgr. .....$299 

C Lang/compiler 260 

All 8" -86 Version 

of Above Call 

Infocom 

Deadline $ 49 

Starcross 39 

Suspended 39 

Zork, I, II, III ea 39 

Micro Pro 

WordStar $250 

InfoStar 265 

Pro-Pak (WS, 

MM, SI, SS) $359 

All Others Call 

Microsoft Call 

Microstuf 

Crosstalk $109 

Northwest Analytical 

Statpak $365 



Oasis 

Word Plus $120 

Punctuation & Style.... 99 

Supersoft 

Disk Doctor $ 74 

Scratchpad Plus 129 



MACINTOSH 
CORNER 

SOFTWARE 
ATI 

MacCoach $ 60 

Dow Jones 

Straightalk 59 

Human Edge 

Sales Edge $195 

Mgmt Edge 195 

Intermatrix 

MacPhone $159 

Living Videotext 
Think Tank $119 

Main St. Software 

Main St. Filer $225 

Microsoft 

MacBasicV 1.01....$ 99 

MacChart 85 

MacWord 139 

MacFile 139 

Monogram 

Dollars & Sense $139 

Software Publishing 

PFS: File,Report . ea $ 89 

T/Maker 

Click Art $ 39 

Telos Software 

Filevision $109 

Games 

Hay den, Infocom 
Penguin, Mirage 
Concepts, Sierra, 
and more Call 

HARDWARE 

Davong 

Disk Drives Call 

Kensington Microware 

Swivel $ 29 

Surge Su pressor 45 

Modem $399 

Memorex 

VA" Diskettes $ 49 

Tecmar 

Disk Drives Call 







M I WtJ B MftiM BaMiaMMWBa^^ 






418 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



APPLE/ 
FRANKLIN 



ALS 

CP/MCard $269 

Smartenm II.... 119 

Z-Engine 139 

CCS 7711 

Asynch Serial $ 99 

Microsoft 

16K Ramcard $ 69 

Softcard 249 

Softcard + 449 

Prem Softcard (HE) 335 

Microtek 

Printer l/F. $ 75 

Dumpling-16K 169 

Dumpling-GX.. 89 

Mountain 

A-D/D-A. Call 

Music System $349 

Orange Micro 

Grappler + w/ buffer . $1 75 

Prometheus 

Versacard $159 

Video -7, Inc. 

V-Color RGB cards.... Call 

Vioex 

Videoterm VT-602 $249 

Ultraterm.... 249 



IBM/PC 



AST Research 

Six Pak + 64K 

(exp 384K, S/P, Clk)..$279 
MegaPlus64K, (Cl/Cal, 

S Port, 512K cap 

w/Megapak) $279 

Extra ports available 

for Megaplus and 

I/O Plus II (Game, 

PorS) $ 40 

Megapak 256K up- 
grade for Megaplus . Call 
I/O Plus II Cl/Cal 

and S Port $139 

May nard Electronics 

Floppy Drive Cntrlr.... $139 

w/ Par Port 169 

w/SerPort 179 

Sandstar Call 



Orange Micro 

Mr. Chips Call 



Orchid Technology 

the Orchid Blossom' 
(To 384K, Ok w/ alarm, 
S&P ports, ram disk, 
disk caching, upgrade- 
able to PCNet) Call 

Quad ram 

Quadboard 64K, (exp 

384K, Clk/Cal, SAP 

Ports, Software) $269 

Microfazer Stack Printer 
-P/P8K(exp512K)....$139 

-S/P8K(exp64K) 149 

-S/S 8K (exp 64K) 149 

Quadlink 64K Memory 

(allows Apple SW to 

run on IBM/PC) $469 

Other Products Call 

Tec mar 

Graphics Master $479 

Captains Board 299 

1st Mate 259 

2nd Mate 250 

3rd Mate 379 

Jr, Captain (128K, C, P) 329 

Jr. 2nd Mate (C, P) 129 

Xedex/Microlog 

Baby Blue $325 

Baby Blue II 525 



DISPLAY CARDS 

Amdek 

MAI Card $399 

Frede ricks/P I a n - 
tronics Colorplus... Call 

Hercules 

Graphics Board $349 

Color Board 199 

MA Systems 

PC Peacock 
Color Board $249 

Paradise 

Display Card 
(clr/monochrome) . $379 
Modular/ Display.... 359 

Quadram 

Quadcolorl $199 

Quadcolor II 389 

Tecmar 

Graphic Master $479 



POLICY: 

► Wisconsin residents add 5% for sales tax. 

► Minimum $4.00 for shipping, handling and insurance 
for orders to $200. 

► For orders over $200, add 214% for shipping, handling 
and insurance. 

► For cash prepayment of orders $200 or more, add 
ONLY 2% for shipping, handling and insurance. 

► Foreign — eithe r add 15% handling & shipping 
(Int'l money order) or inquire. 

► Prices are subject to change without notice. 

► All items subject to availability 



DISK DRIVES 

CDC 1800 $209 

Corona Call 

CorvusHd Call 

Datamac 
Trustor 10H (for 
Macintosh, lie, PC)... Call 

Davong Hd Call 

Maynard HD Call 

Tall Grass 

for Wisconsin customers Call 

Tandon TM-100-2 $199 

Mountain, Inc. 

FileSafe Combo 
Disk/Tape Pack for 
the IBM PC or XT 

Model 01-4000-04: 
35MB HD w/27MB 
tape backup 

Model 01-4000-06: 
35MB HD w/60MB 
tape backup. 
For more in (o Call 



MONITORS 

Amdek 

300A Amber $149 

310A 199 

300 Or 299 

500ClrRGB 449 

600 Clr HR 549 

700 Or Ultra HR 629 

710 Clr Non Glare.... 649 

NEC 

JB1201-12" Green $169 

JB1260-12" Green.... 119 
JC1216RGB 429 

Panasonic 

CT160 10"comp Call 

PGS 

HX12RGBCIr $489 

MAX 12 189 

SRI 2 (690x480 Res)... 639 
DoublerCard 175 

Quadram 

Quadchrome $489 

Sanyo 

8112 12" HR Green.... $195 

Taxan 

440 $679 



USI 1200A 
12" HRAm $139 

Zenith 

135(RGBorcomp)....$499 
136 669 



MODEMS 

Hayes 

Smartmodem 300 $195 

Smart modem 1200 .... 489 
Smartmodem 1200B... 399 

Prometheus 

Promodem... $399 

Quadram 

Quadmodem $529 

US Robotics 

Auto-Dial 300/1 200... $459 

S-100 Modem 349 

Password 525 

Zoom Telephonies 
Networker w/o SW ... $109 



C. Itoh Electronics, Inc. 

Pro writer 

8510 AP (Par) $349 

8510 PC-II (Ser) 

(w/3K Buffer) $499 

1515P 599 

Starwriter 

F10-40P (40cps) $999 

A10-20S (20cps) 529 

Diablo 

630 ECS Call 

Juki Industries 

6100 $399 

NEC Call 

Okidata 82-93 Call 

Printek, Inc. 

920 S/P $2050 

Quadram 

Quadjet Call 

Star Micronics Call 

TeletexTlOU $399 

Transtar 

T-130P&S $659 

T-315 P- Dot Matrix.. 489 
T-120P&S 475 

. . . and much more. 



3M, CDC, Maxell, 
Verbatim, Ultra 

Magnetics Call 



PLOTTERS 

Amdek 

DXY-100 $599 

Amplotll 899 

Enter 

Sweet P Six Shooter... Call 

Houston Instruments Call 

Panasonic 

VP6801P Plotter $1375 



MISC. 

Alpha-Delta MACC 
Surge Protector $ 69 

Computer Accessories 

Power Director Call 

Electronic 
Protection Devices 

Lemon /EC I $ 45 

Lime/ EC II 65 

Orange /EC IV 105 

Hauppage 

87 Chip $159 

Other Products Call 

Kensington 

Masterpiece Call 

Keytronic 

KB 5150 $169 

KB 5151 175 

KB 5151 Dvorak 175 

Street Electronics Call 

TG Coll 

Versa Computing 

VersaWriter $239 



A variety of complete 
PC compatible systems 
are available at Oryx. 
For assistance in 
determining your needs 
use our technical line? 
We will be happy to 
provide full support. 




WE WELCOMES 

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► Corporate, government or educational volume purchases, please ask for special accounts 
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WORKING HOURS? 

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For tech. support, order status and customer service, call (715) 848-1374 (M-F, 8 am to 5 pm) 

Inquiry 241 for Hardware. Inquiry 242 for Software. Inquiry 243 for February Specials 

ORYX SYSTEMS, INC. 

CRAFTSMEN OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGY 

1 800 826-1589 

w,sc w o^ 1 800 472-3535 

425 First Street • PO. Box 1961 

Wausau, Wisconsin 54401 

INT'L TELEX: 260181 ORYX SYS WAU 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 419 



LETTERS 



each time anything is to be accomplished, 
his program succeeds in accomplishing its 
task simply and clearly with only one 
GOTO and only four GOSUB instructions 
in the body of the program, plus the two 
recursive GOSUB instructions in each sub- 
routine. Only five line numbers are ref- 
erenced in the entire program. 

The problem with the "structured 
BASIC" proponents is that in general they 
want us to write BASIC programs as if they 
were really Pascal. Let's face it: It may be 
proper German to put a verb at the end 
of a sentence, but in English that is bad 
grammar. The goal is to write clear pro- 
grams. What purpose would have been 
served by inserting in Mr. Spencer's pro- 
gram lines such as: 

31 GOSUB 40 ' initialize 

32 GOSUB 140 ' get data, do basic stats 

33 GOSUB 240 ' do means 

The goal is to write clearly with the tools 
given us, not to emulate one language 
from within another. 

W. Howard Cornelsen Ir. 
Houston, TX 

The September issue was outstanding. 
Two programs presented in it- 1 ' Cluster 
Analysis" by Rob Spencer and "Fractals" 
by Peter R. S0rensen— give the micro 
owner a wonderful opportunity to use a 
program running on a computer as a way 
of understanding important phenomena. 
This aspect of computer literacy is not 
often stressed, and articles such as these 
serve such a purpose. 

Benjamin W. White 
Tiburon, CA 

Database Types 

Every once in a while BYTE carries an ar- 
ticle that really makes me sit up and take 
notice. I wish that I had seen Rich Kra- 
jewski's article, "Database Types" (October 
1984, page 137}, a couple of years ago. 

I had need of a database program to run 
on my Commodore 64 but really had no 
way to know which program to buy. Ac- 
tually none that I read about sounded 
right for me. So I wrote my own. Now as 
I am in the middle of revising my program, 
I discover in your October issue that I have 
a "free-format database." Too bad I didn't 
know what to look for before. But, actual- 
ly I'm not sure that there was, or is, such 
a program for the Commodore 64. 

1 teach at Southern Arkansas University- 
El Dorado. Each year I need to select an 
outstanding student from science and 
math to be honored at graduation. And 



I need to select students for nomination 
to 'Who's Who." Frequently I hear from 
a student who would like me to write a let- 
ter of recommendation. With my Database 
program, I can print out my records for 
all students that got an A for any particular 
semester, and in any particular course if 
needed. Or I can print out all the infor- 
mation that I have on a particular student. 

Recently I have been computerizing my 
card file. When finished, I will be able to 
call up all references to databases, or to 
dot-matrix printers, or on using solar 
energy to heat pools. 

If any reader of BYTE would be in- 
terested in trying "Database" on his Com- 
modore 64, send me a disk and a check 
for $5, I'll return a copy of the program 
and documentation. 

Jack Ryan 

Rte. 5, Box 244 

El Dorado, AR 71730 

I have been searching for databases that 
will fulfill my own requirements as well as 
requirements for clients over the past 
several months and found your articles 
very helpful. There was, however, one 
change to your coverage that other 
"searchers" might find helpful. Savvy by 
Excalibur, now runs on MS-DOS as well 
as on its own operating system. It requires 
MS-DOS version 2.0 or later. With this en- 
hancement, 1 have found it to be an 
unbeatable value for most applications. It 
is easy to use, complete, powerful, and 
very well supported. Its documentation is 
excellent, a real rarity in the market- 
place—and in the industry. 

Warren S. Nakisher 
Falls Church, VA 

What s "Friendly"? 

I wonder if you have any idea how over- 
used and undefined the word "friendly" 
is when used to describe a computer sys- 
tem? I have found that every user commu- 
nity has a different idea about that, and 
even the same users will feel differently 
about it with use. 

I believe we should be simply talking to 
our users rather than trying to define 
friendly within the computer community 
This kind of action requires that we get 
hardware and operating systems that are 
as flexible as possible and that we write 
applications to react to the needs of the 
users. This is hard to do when writing for 
a large unknown user, and perhaps this 
is the reason most software is deemed 
unfriendly. 

I think the most unfriendly operating sys- 



tem is UNIX, but I really like that system, 
and many users will call it friendly because 
it is flexible and permits the programmer 
to write friendly applications. I would be 
interested to hear comments on this. 

John L. Beal 
Phoenix, AZ 

Pseudorandom Numbers 

Your article by Charles A. Whitney entitled 
"Generating and Testing Pseudorandom 
Numbers" (October 1984, page 128) is a 
good tutorial on examining the periodici- 
ty of pseudorandom sequences used in 
Monte Carlo and other simulation tech- 
niques. To this end, I would like to con- 
tribute the two-line program below for 
IBM PC DOS 2.0 to further demonstrate 
the inherent periodicity of the BASICA 
RND (and other) pseudorandom functions. 

10 RANDOMIZE TIMER: KEY OFF: 

SCREEN 1: CLS 
20 X = 320*RND: Y = 200*RND: 

C = 4*RND: PSET (X, Y), C: GOTO 20 

The program is intended to graphically 
demonstrate periodicity as spatial/color 
banding. Such banding indicates a clear 
recurrence of pseudorandom triplets re- 
peatedly formed for X, Y, and color. 

Other than an interesting star-like twink- 
ling effect, this graphical technique has 
considerable value in visually inspecting 
both the periodicity and distribution 
(uniform, Gaussian, etc.) of other pseudo- 
random sequences. 

H. I SOMMER HI 

University Park, PA 

The Origin of "FOO.BAR" 

I have been working with computers for 
26 years, and I still don't know the origin 
of the words "FOO" and "BAR" which ap- 
pear in just about every language manual 
I've read. 

Are they Ada Lovelace's boyfriend's mid- 
dle names? Or perhaps they are magic 
words from an early adventure game. 
(They never work for me.) 

Someone out there must know 

Peter Smith 
Kenmore, Australia 

We believe "FOO.BAR" started out as 
' FUBAR," an unofficial military acronym 
for Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. 
Perhaps often used as a test filename, 
FUBAR may have been altered to 
FOOBAR when a large computer manu- 
facturer's file specification required six 
characters. We're curious tooM 



420 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



WHATS NEW 



PC Chinese Software Bridge 



The CCC-PC Chinese 
Character Generator 
Card from Multitech In- 
dustrial Corporation lets you 
run Chinese applications 
software on your IBM 55 50 
and IBM PC. This card plugs 
into an IBM expansion slot 
and gives you the ability to 
display and print out 
Chinese characters. 

The CCC-PC card stores 
Chinese characters in a 
2-byte international code 
using a technique known as 
the Dragon Coding Method. 
This method is said to 
reduce 17.000 characters to 
24 alphabet-like symbols. 
The CCC-PC supports the 



method in two modes: one 
for beginners and the other 
for experienced Chinese 
encoders. 

Other input/output 
methods on the CCC-PC in- 
clude telegraphies, lightning, 
national phonetic alphabet, 
and internal code dictionary. 

The CCC-PC supports IBM- 
compatible TTL-input mono- 
chrome monitors with a 
40-character by 2 5-line dis- 
play for Chinese characters 
and an 80 by 2 5 format for 
ASCII characters. The resolu- 
tion uses a 16- by 16-dot 
character cell. 

The CCC-PC is available to 
original equipment manufac- 




turers and end users. Con- 
tact Mr. William Lu, Multi- 
tech Industrial Corp.. 266 
Sung Chiang Rd., Taipei, 



Taiwan, Republic of China; 
tel: (02) 551-1101; Telex: 
19162 MULTIIC 
Inquiry 615. 



IBM PC Color-Graphics Board for S-100 



An IBM PC-compatible 
color-graphics display 
board for S-100 bus systems 
is available from CompuPro. 
The PC Video Board runs 
under CompuPro's Concur- 
rent DOS 8-16 with Digital 
Research's IBM PC-com- 
patibility module, and it 
works with Digital Research's 
GSX graphics software. 

Built around the Motorola 
6845 video-display con- 
troller, this board can be 
programmed to produce an 
assortment of timing charac- 
teristics for a variety of 
color and monochrome 
monitors. It features 16K 
bytes of static CMOS RAM, 



24-bit memory addressing, 
16-bit addressing for I/O 
ports, and variable wait 
states, which provide in- 
dependent access to up to 
eight boards. 

In its color mode, the 
board permits graphics 
screens of 160 (horizontal) 
by 200 pixels (vertical) in 16 
colors using an alphanu- 
meric 4- by 2-dot character 
box, 320 by 200 pixels in 
four colors, or 640 by 200 
pixels in one color plus 
black. 

The alphanumeric screen 
uses an 80 or 40 by 25 for- 
mat and an 8- by 8-dot 
cell with a 7- by 7-dot 




character within the box. A 

2 56-character ROM gener- 
ates uppercase and lower- 
case characters with single- 
line descenders. Direct-drive 
outputs include horizontal 
sync, vertical sync, RGB TTL, 
and half- and full-intensity. 

In its monochrome mode, 
the PC Video Board pro- 
duces a graphics screen 
with a 320 or 640 by 200 
resolution. Its alphanumeric 
screen in this mode has the 
same column and line sizes 
as in the color mode but 
uses a 9- by 14-dot charac- 
ter cell with a 8- by 12 -dot 
character. The 2 56-character 
ROM generates character 
sizes in upper- and lower- 
cases with fully formed 
descenders and such charac- 
ter attributes as underline, 
blanking, and reverse video. 
Direct-drive outputs include 
horizontal sync, vertical 
sync, video dots, and half- 
and full-intensity 

The PC Video Board is 
$495. Contact CompuPro, 

3 506 Breakwater Court, 
Hayward, CA 94545, (415) 
786-0909. 

Inquiry 616. 



2K Programmable 
Microcontroller 

The MC-1Z is a 3- by 
4-inch microcontroller 
with 2K bytes of RAM and 
40 fully programmable I/O 
lines. Its resident program- 
ming language is Integer 
BASIC, making the MC-1Z 
suitable for such applica- 
tions as instrumentation and 
process control. 

This board is built around 
a Zilog 8671 microproces- 
sor. It can be upgraded to 
16K bytes of RAM, or it may 
be equipped with a 4K- or 
8K-byte EPROM. Standard 
equipment includes a clock/ 
calendar, two timer/counters, 
six interrupts, and an EPROM 
receptacle. With more 
cabling, the MC-1Z can be 
linked to an RS-232C terminal 
for applications programming. 
Its data rates range from 110 
to 19.200 bps. 

The MC-1Z comes with 
complete hardware and soft- 
ware manuals. Prices begin 
at less than $200. Contact 
Basicon Inc., 11895 North- 
west Cornell Rd., Portland, 
OR 97229, (503) 626-1012. 
Inquiry 617. 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 421 



WHAT'S NEW 



A D D - I N S 



X.25 Interface for PC 



A/D Cards 



The PC-X2 5 is an X.2 5 
communications inter- 
face for the IBM Personal 
Computer. A plug-in board, 
the PC-X2 5 comes with sup- 



porting software that pro- 
vides a menu-driven en- 
vironment for accessing net- 
work services, exchanging 
messages, and transmitting 




files. Data transmission rates 
range up to 19,200 bps. 

The PC-X2 5 has received 
PTT approval in the United 
Kingdom, France, Holland, 
Japan, and Switzerland. The 
manufacturer claims that ap- 
proval is imminent in the 
United States as well as the 
rest of Europe and Aus- 
tralasia. 

The single-license charge 
is £1000. Contact S-Com 
Computer Systems Engi- 
neers Inc., Tower House, 
High St., Aylesbury, Buck- 
inghamshire, HP20 1SQ, 
England; tel: (0296) 32023: 
Telex: 837520 ADTRAV G. 
Inquiry 618. 



Apple He Video Card 



Checkmate Technology 
has announced the 
MultiView 80/160 Card, a 
video card that displays 
from 80 to 160 characters 
per line on a 12-MHz 
monitor. The MultiView 
80/1 60's seven screen sizes 
are 80 characters by 24 
lines. 80 by 32, 80 by 48, 
96 by 24, 132 by 24, 132 by 
30, and 160 by 24. Screens 
longer than 24 lines require 
a monitor with a long- 
persistence phosphor. The 
user can view each screen 
size in wide-angle mode for 
easier reading. 

The MultiView 80/160 also 
adds up to five prompt lines 
to the standard screen 
display. The card uses an 8 
by 9 matrix with true 
descenders to create a 
letter-quality character set. 
Characters can be displayed 
as bold, inverse, normal, or 
underlined. You can reverse- 
scroll up to 4096 characters. 

The MultiView 80/160 in- 
stalls in the Apple lies slot 
3. It lets you use the 64 K 
bytes of memory of an ex- 
tended 80-column card in 
the auxiliary slot. Through 



MultiView, you can access 
the extra 64 K bytes by using 
BASIC commands. The card 
is compatible with CP/M, 
Apple Pascal, DOS 3.3, and 
ProDOS. 



MultiView is priced at 
$349.95. Contact Checkmate 
Technology Inc., 509 South 
Rockford Dr., Tempe, AZ 
85281-3021, (602) 966-5802. 
Inquiry 619. 



Multifunction Card for Apple He 



AST Research's Multi-I/O 
board for the Apple He 
offers a serial printer port, a 
communications serial port, 
and a ProDOS-compatible 
clock/calendar with battery 
backup. It also includes an 
on-disk tutorial program, 
clock read/set, text-file 
listing, graphics dump, 



Greeting Card Security 



phone dialer, modem or 
remote-terminal print, and 
screen time-display utilities 
package. 

The price for the complete 
package is $23 5. Contact 
AST Research Inc., 2121 
Alton Ave., Irvine, CA 92714, 
(714) 476-3868. 
Inquiry 620. 



The Greeting Card 
prevents unauthorized 
use of your Apple II, II + . or 
He. This single card has a 
2K-byte nonvolatile memory 
that holds a security pro- 
gram that gives your Apple 
password protection. It can 
be used for posting short 
messages, and it can hold 
up to eight assembly- 



language programs, which 
can be set to run when the 
Apple is booted up. 

The Greeting Card requires 
48K bytes of RAM and a 
disk drive. The price is 
$69.95. Contact Birchem 
Computer Products, 5728 
Thames Way, Carmichael, CA 
95608. (916) 489-7542. 
Inquiry 621. 



Action Instruments offers 
a line of plug-in, IBM 
PC-compatible analog and 
digital I/O cards for in- 
dustrial process and 
laboratory applications. 

The ACIP-AI04 accepts 4 
analog inputs, transmits 2 
analog outputs, and pro- 
vides 12 channels of con- 
figurable digital I/O, all with 
12-bit resolution. The AICP- 
AI016, also with 12-bit 
resolution, accepts 16 single- 
ended or 8 fully differential 
inputs. The AICP-AI08 
handles 8 single-ended, 
± 5-volt inputs and provides 
7 channels of digital I/O. 

Both the A1CP-RTDI5 and 
the -TCI 5 are designed for 
temperature applications. 
Each accepts up to 15 input 
channels and provides 
500-voIt input-to-expansion 
bus signal isolation. 

The A1CP-SG4 enables the 
IBM PC to monitor and con- 
trol force, strain, and 
pressure applications. A 
general-purpose, low-level 
analog card, the SG4 pro- 
vides 8 outputs and sources 
its own excitation voltages 
for direct connection to load 
cells, strain gauges, and 
pressure transducers. Also 
standard are front-end filter- 
ing and individual on-board 
channel alarm set points. 

The A1CP-DIM32 has 32 
input channels, and the 
-DOM32 has 32 output 
channels. Both are designed 
for interfacing multiple 
digital signals to the IBM PC 
and can connect with 
industrial, isolated high-level 
I/O racks. They provide 
positive or negative true 
TTL-compatible logic levels. 

Prices range from $2 50 for 
the AICP-DIM32 to $1295 
for the thermocouple, RTD, 
and strain-gauge cards. Con- 
tact Action Instruments Inc.. 
8601 Aero Dr.. San Diego, 
CA 92123, (619) 279-5726. 
Inquiry 622. 



422 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



WHAT'S NEW 



PER IP HER ALS 



Omninet for the Mac High-Speed Printer 



Corvus Systems' Omninet 
local-area network can 
connect up to 63 Macin- 
toshes at distances up to 
4000 feet and run at 0.7 
megabits per second. This 
card is built into the com- 
puter interface cable; you 
plug the cable into the 
modem port of the Mac. 

The connections for Omni- 
net are $200. Disk drive 
costs depend on amount of 
memory: $1795 for 5 mega- 
bytes, $2495 for 10 mega- 
bytes, $3495 for 16 mega- 
bytes, and $4995 for 4 5 
megabytes. Contact Corvus 
Systems Inc., 2100 Corvus 
Dr., San Jose CA 95124, 
(408) 559-7000. 
Inquiry 623. 



The OT-700 dot-matrix 
printer from Output 
Technology uses an ad- 
vanced print-head technique 
to reach a maximum speed 
of 700 characters per sec- 
ond. It also features corre- 
spondence-quality printing 
at 3 50 cps and dot-address- 
able graphics capability in 
two modes: 50 by 69 dots 
per inch for high speed or 
100 by 69 dpi for high 
resolution. 

Centronics parallel and 
RS-232C serial interfaces 
and a 4K-byte buffer are 
standard. You use menu- 
driven program commands 
to configure the OT-700. 
Numerous character sets, in- 
cluding foreign languages, 



are offered. 

The printer has 136-col- 
umn carriage width, and 
paper feeds from the front 
or bottom of the case. The 
control panel features mem- 
brane switches and LED in- 



dicator lights. 

The OT-700 sells for $1595. 
Contact Output Technology 
Corp., Suite 205, 606 110th 
Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 
98004, (206) 453-9794. 
Inquiry 624. 





Multiuser Hard Disk for the IBM 



A multiuser, 38-megabyte 
hard-disk drive for the 
IBM PC or PC XT is avail- 
able from Adcomp. Up to 
16 microcomputers can ac- 
cess the system, which in- 
cludes a removable 6-mega- 
byte disk drive for backup. 
Its modular design lets you 
expand it to use more com- 
puters and up to 100 mega- 
bytes of memory. 
Adcomp also offers ready- 



made file administration for 
multiuser applications. One 
computer supervises the ac- 
cess administration for the 
others while it remains func- 
tional as a workstation. 

The hard-disk system costs 
$3995. Contact Adcomp 
Datensysteme GmbH, Olga- 
strasse 15, D-8000 Munich 
19; tel: 011 (49) 89-129-80- 
45; Telex: 52 16 271. 
Inquiry 625. 



Graphics and Letter-Quality Print 



Star Micronics has an- 
nounced the Star SB-10, 
a letter-quality, dot-matrix 
printer. The Star SB-10 pro- 
duces text at two speed and 
quality settings: letter quali- 
ty at 60 cps and draft quali- 
ty at 120 cps. It also can 
combine letter-quality text 
with graphics. 

The printer's character 
fonts include pica, elite, con- 
densed, proportional, ex- 
panded, emphasized, and 
double-strike. It has a stan- 
dard Centronics parallel in- 



terface plus optional serial 
(RS-232C) andGPIB 
(IEEE-488) interfaces. Some 
of the Star SB-10's features 
are continuous underline, 
vertical and horizontal pro- 
grammable tabs, self-test, 
left and right margin set, 
and bit-image column scan. 

The Star SB-10 is $995. 
For details, contact Star 
Micronics Inc., 200 Park 
Ave, New York, NY 10166, 
(212) 986-6770. 
Inquiry 626. 

[continued) 




FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 423 



WHAT'S NEW 



NEW SYSTEMS 



Passport Comes with Hard Disk 



Anderson Jacobson's A) 
Passport/PHD desktop 
computer gives you both 
floppy- and hard-disk 
storage. The system behind 
the storage has 2 56K bytes 
of dynamic RAM, on-board 
color, graphics, and five ex- 
pansion bus slots. An MS- 
DOS 2.11-compatible oper- 
ating system, TeleDOS con- 
trols operations. 

Based around Intel's 8088 
microprocessor, the Pass- 
port/PHD comes with an 
asynchronous RS-232C serial 
communications port, a 
parallel Centronics-type 
printer port, a single internal 
IBM PC-format bus slot, and 
RGB and composite-video 
connections. It has fifteen 
data rates, ranging from 50 
to 9600 bps. 

The slimline 514-inch 
floppy-disk drive provides 
360K bytes of formatted 
storage, and the 3kHnch 
hard disk offers 10 mega- 
bytes. The floppy-disk 
transfer rate is 2 50K bits per 
second. The hard disk offers 
a 5-megabit per second 
transfer rate. 

The Passport/PHD has a 
12-inch amber display with a 
nonglare surface that tilts 
and swivels. Graphics capa- 
bilities are supported by 
16K bytes of dedicated 
memory. The monochrome 




display resolution is 640 by 
200 pixels. The color resolu- 
tion is 320 by 300 pixels. 

The IBM PC-style keyboard 
features 83 keys, with a 
numeric pad and 10 pro- 
grammable function keys. 

The Passport/PHD is 



$4095. which includes in- 
tegrated word-processing, 
spreadsheet, and database- 
management programs. Con- 
tact Anderson Jacobson, 521 
Charcot Ave., San lose, CA 
95131, (408) 94 5-9030. 
Inquiry 627. 



A Wyse Line of IBM 
PC-Compatibles 

Wyse Technology has 
unveiled a line of IBM 
PC-compatible computers. 

The WYSEpc Model 
WY-1 100-1 is an entry-level 
system. It comes with a pair 
of 360K-byte double-density 
floppy-disk drives, 2 56K 
bytes of RAM, two serial 
ports, and a parallel printer 
port. A 14-inch tilt-and- 
swivel monochrome display 
and a 101 -key keyboard are 
standard. Two expansion 
slots provide room for IBM 
PC-compatible options. 

The IBM PC XT-compatible 
Model 1100-2 comes with a 
10-megabyte Winchester 
hard-disk drive and one 
floppy-disk unit. 

Both units are shipped 
with MS-DOS 2.11 and GW- 
BASIC and are offered with 
a color graphics option. 
Other options include 2 56K 
bytes of RAM, a real-time 
clock/calendar, battery 
backup, and an expansion 
chassis with four IBM PC- 
compatible slots. 

The Model 1100-1 is 
$1995, while the Model 
1100-2 is $3495. The color 
graphics option is $500. 
Contact Wyse Technology, 
3040 North First St., San 
lose, CA 95134, (408) 
946-3075. 
Inquiry 628. 



Datapoint Announces 32-bit Computer 



The Datapoint 3200, a 
32-bit computer has a 
UNIX-like operating system 
known as UNOS. The 3200 
can serve as a stand-alone 
system and as a member of 
Datapoint's ARC intelligent 
local-network system. 

UNOS, which is said to op- 
timize 68000 performance, 
provides such file-manage- 
ment capabilities as multi- 
tasking, device-independent 
I/O, dynamic file allocation, 



I/O redirection, and hier- 
archical directory structure. 

Software options for the 
3200 include C. RM/COBOL, 
and a business programming 
language. Ace Microsystem's 
LEX word processor and 
Microsoft's Multiplan are 
supported. 

The 3200 has dual 68000 
microprocessors. One 68000 
has a 4K-byte cache 
memory for application pro- 
cessing at a 12.5-MHz clock 



rate. The second 68000 
organizes I/O. 

Presently, two models are 
available with a variety of 
options, including up to 8 
megabytes of RAM, three 
types of terminals, three dif- 
ferent printers, and a 
2780/3780 communications 
adapter. The 3200 can sup- 
port 28 Datapoint terminals. 

An entry-level 3200 comes 
with 1 megabyte of RAM, 
cache memory, and four 



serial ports. A 1 -megabyte 
8-inch floppy disk and a 
32-megabyte hard disk pro- 
vide mass storage. The base 
system price is $15,430 
through Datapoint's ISO and 
end-user direct-sales force. 
UNOS is $1000, and a net- 
work adapter is $2 500. For 
more information, contact 
Datapoint Corp., 9725 Data- 
point Dr., San Antonio, TX 
78284, (800) 334-1122. 
Inquiry 629. 



424 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



WHAT'S NEW 



SOFTWARE • APPLE 



Musical Macintosh 



Even if you can't read a 
note of music, you can 
use MusicWorks to create 
and perform music on a 
Macintosh. MacroMind, 
developer of the software, 
claims the program enables 
anyone to compose and edit 
simple melodies or fully or- 
chestrated symphonies. The 
compositions can then be 
played back with as many as 
four voices simultaneously 
over an eight-octave range, 
and you can assign each 



voice any one of eight 
musical instruments. You can 
vary the tempo, intensity 
timbre, and meter. 

MusicWorks features two 
composing options. In the 
first method, you place 
notes and rests on a con- 
ventional staff. In the sec- 
ond method, you place 
boxes on a matrix grid that 
resembles the keys of a 
piano. The program auto- 
matically updates the com- 
position in standard notation 



and can print scores for one 
instrument or for an 
ensemble. 

The program comes with 
sample songs that you can 
edit and rearrange. The 
manual includes an introduc- 
tion to the basics of music. 

MusicWorks for the Apple 
Macintosh costs $79.95 and 
is being marketed by 
Hayden Software Company 
Inc.. 600 Suffolk St., Lowell, 
MA 01854, (617) 937-0200. 
Inquiry 630. 



MacManage Projects High-Level Language Introduction to CAD 



A project-management 
tool for the Macintosh, 
MacProject enables you to 
draw a schedule on the 
screen and enter beginning 
dates, required completion 
dates, resources, and fixed 
and variable cost data for 
each task. MacProject then 
calculates the start and 
finish dates. 

The program features 
"what-if" analytical capabil- 
ity that lets you instantly re- 
calculate dates, resources, 
and expenses when vari- 
ables are introduced into a 
project. You can cut and 
paste sections of projects 
into other project schedules 
or into files created with 
MacWrite. You can also 
transfer cost data to 
Multiplan for further 
analysis. Schedules, 
resources, and tasks can be 
represented in tables. 

MacProject can accom- 
modate up to 200 jobs on 
the 128K-byte Macintosh 
and up to 2000 jobs on the 
Lisa 2 or the 512K-byte 
Macintosh. Available from 
authorized Apple dealers, 
the package has a suggested 
retail price of $12 5. Contact 
Apple Computer Inc., 2052 5 
Mariani Ave., Cupertino, CA 
95014, (408) 996-1010. 
Inquiry 631. 



Based on the FORTH lan- 
guage model, SkyForth 
1.3 is a development system 
for the Apple II series. Ac- 
cording to the vendor, Sky- 
Forth can execute 10 itera- 
tions of the Sieve of 
Eratosthenes benchmark in 
139 seconds and alpha- 
betize 2000 five-character 
names in 5.2 seconds. 

The language, including its 
source-code editor, resides 
in the upper 16K bytes of 
the computer. Since the 
editor/compiler is always 
resident, you can write, com- 
pile, and test programs 
quickly SkyForth reads and 
writes its programs as con- 
tinuous Apple DOS 3.3 files. 
You can save finished pro- 
grams and overlays as ob- 
ject code. 

The developer features a 
full assembler, utility and 
debugging routines, and a 
turnkey, run-time package. 
SkyForth's kernel includes 
words to handle floating- 
point math. 32-bit integers, 
memory moves, sorts, list 
structures, and windowed 
graphics. 

A single-user license costs 
$99. Contact Tosch Informa- 
tion Management, Dept. S, 
1602 5 10th Ave. SW, Seattle, 
WA 98166, (206) 246-3839. 
Inquiry 632. 



With CADAPPLE-Entry 
Level, you can learn 
and apply the fundamentals 
of computer-aided design 
(CAD). The program features 
menus and single-stroke 
operation, built-in error 
recovery, and floating-point 
internal calculations. 

The package provides 
lines, arcs, circles, rectangles, 
ellipses, polygons, and text. 
You can select grid spacing 
and divisions in both x and 
y axes independently in 
"real world" coordinates, 
and change them at any 
time You can input with a 
keyboard, joystick, mouse, 
or KoalaPad. Any distance 
can be dimensioned 
automatically. You can scale 
objects or groups of objects 
independently, rotate them 
to any degree, or delete (or 
undelete) them. Windowing 
functions let you zoom in 
and out of a drawing or pan 
across it. Drawings are done 
on a plotter. 

CADAPPLE-Entry Level 
costs $495 and runs on an 
Apple II or 11+ with 64K 
bytes of memory and on an 
Apple lie or lie. Contact T & 
W Systems Inc., Suite 106, 
7372 Prince Dr., Huntington 
Beach, CA 92647, (714) 
847-9960. 
Inquiry 633. 



System Helps You 
Search Information 
Databases 

Searchware has 
developed a software 
system that enables an 
Apple computer to access 
and search information data- 
bases. The system empha- 
sizes a knowledge of the 
subject you are investigating 
rather than familiarity with 
the search procedures of 
each database. 

According to the company, 
you don't need to know the 
syntax of search commands. 
The program asks you to 
identify key words in the 
subject of interest; the 
search strategy is then 
developed off line, which 
can reduce search-time 
charges. When the strategy 
is complete, the computer 
automatically dials the 
phone number of the data- 
base, logs on, transmits the 
search strategy records the 
results of the search either 
on paper or on floppy disk, 
and then logs off and dis- 
connects. 

You can search at three 
levels. The first level takes 
care of commands, syntax, 
and logic. At the second 
level, the software develops 
and transmits the search 
commands, but you create 
the logic. The third level lets 
you search on line. 

Searchware bills monthly 
for search-time charges. 
There is no minimum 
monthly charge. 

The company is offering 
an automated demonstration 
program for $15. No modem 
is required to run this pro- 
gram. Complete software 
packages start at $290. A 
version for the IBM PC is 
also available. Contact 
Searchware Inc., Suite E, 
22458 Ventura Blvd., Wood- 
land Hills, CA 91364, (818) 
992-4325. 
Inquiry 634. 

{continued) 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 425 



WHAT'S NEW 



SOFTWARE • CP/M/MS-DOS 



WordStar Commands Placed on Function Keys 



Keys Please! with Instant 
Install gives WordStar 
users the convenience of 
single-keystroke operation. 
This enhancement package, 
published by Precision Soft- 
ware Products, places all 
140 WordStar commands 
onto function keys and 
automatically activates all 
WordStar's printer capabili- 
ties, including condensed, 
bold, and italics. Commands 



are grouped by function, 
and an on-screen command 
summary line eliminates the 
need for rote memorization 
of key combinations. 

Hardware modifications or 
optional boards are not re- 
quired. Keys Please! with In- 
stant Install runs on CP/M 
2.2, CP/M -80, CP/M 3.0, 
TurboDOS, CDOS, and 
Cromix systems with 56K 
bytes of RAM. It also works 



with MS-DOS and PC-DOS 
version 1.x or 2.x computers 
with I28K bytes of RAM. 
Two disk drives are required. 
A variety of printers are 
supported. The suggested 
list price is $69.95. For more 
information, contact Preci- 
sion Software Products, 
Suite 204, 360 17th St., 
Oakland, CA 94612, (415) 
839-5780. 
Inquiry 635. 



Hard-Disk Backup TVaps Errors in CP/M-86 



BackRest 2.0 is a hard- 
disk drive backup pro- 
gram for such operating sys- 
tems as CP/M-86. MS-DOS, 
and MP/M. When used with 
CP/M-86, BackRest will trap 
hard system errors, even 
though that operating 
system does not support 
error trapping. 

BackRest can interrupt a 
backup at any time to per- 
form a priority task or to 



format additional floppy 
disks. After the interruption, 
it can resume the backup 
procedure from where it left 
off. It locks out bad sectors 
on the hard disk, and it sup- 
ports backups to most file- 
oriented tape devices. Stan- 
dard features include op- 
tional restoration to an alter- 
nate drive, automatic re- 
storation, the ability to split 
large files over several flop- 



py disks, backup of sparse 
files, and local-area network 
support. 

Other DOSes supported 
include PC-DOS, Concurrent 
CP/M, CP/M 2.2. CP/M Plus, 
MP/M-86, and TurboDOS. 
The suggested retail price is 
$180. Contact Stok Software 
Inc., 17 West 1 7th St.. New 
York. NY 10011, (212) 
243-1444. 
Inquiry 636. 



Product Generation Utility Eases Rebuilding Process 



Lattice has announced 
the availability of an 
automated product genera- 
tion utility for MS-DOS. 
Called LMK. this product 
functions like a UNIX MAKE 
facility. LMK is designed to 
facilitate the making of 
alterations in a variety of 
source files. It eliminates the 
manual reconstruction of a 
product's source files. Its 
scope in constructing soft- 
ware, documentation, or file 
systems is limitless. 

Here's what LMK does: 
Once you have specified the 
relationships between vari- 
ous pieces of a system, such 
as source modules, object 
modules, or chapters of a 
manuscript, in a "dependen- 
cy file," you can invoke a 
single LMK command to 
automatically rebuild the 



system. LMK's actions can 
be any executable com- 
mand, such as invoking a 
batch text editor to make 
replacements in a number 
of files, applying a file com- 
parator to new and old files, 
updating a database, or run- 
ning utilities. 

Minimum system re- 
quirements are 3 2 OK bytes 
of floppy-disk capacity, I28K 



bytes of RAM, and MS-DOS 
2.0 or 3.0. It runs on com- 
puters based on 8086, 8088, 
80186, or 80286 micropro- 
cessors. The suggested retail 
price for LMK with full 
documentation is $195. For 
further information, contact 
Lattice Inc., POB 3072. Glen 
Ellyn, IL 60138, (312) 
858-7950. 
Inquiry 637. 



Software Connections Supports Networks 1.0 



Software Connections has 
announced a line of net- 
work applications software 
that works with Microsoft's 
Networks 1.0 network-operat- 
ing system extension. Prod- 
ucts available include a rela- 
tional database-management 
system, a relational data- 



base-applications develop- 
ment tool, and a store-and- 
forward electronic-mail file- 
transfer system. 

Contact Software Connec- 
tions. 2041 Mission College 
Blvd.. Santa Clara, CA 
95054, (408) 988-0300. 
Inquiry 638. 



Integrated Package 
Grows with You 

TymlV is an integrated 
software package that 
can be expanded as your 
needs increase. The basic 
package, known as An- 
thology, comes with word- 
processing, spreadsheet 
analysis, and database- 
management capabilities. 
For more sophisticated data 
management, there's Six, a 
universal database package 
that lets you save, recall, 
and edit large quantities of 
information and print stan- 
dard or custom-designed 
reports, forms, and labels. 

At the heart of this 
package is a native C code 
master program called 
Execu/Bus. Execu/Bus serves 
as a common environment 
by generating uniform com- 
mands and screen presenta- 
tions for all applications. 
These commands control 
the start-up and completion 
of a task as well as provide 
an interface for data swap- 
ping among applications. 
Operating system utilities 
can be accessed through 
Execu/Bus. Utility functions 
include file backup and 
copy; rename, delete, and 
print file; and display direc- 
tory. A common help facility 
supports all applications. 

Presently, the manufacturer 
has 18 vertical and hori- 
zontal applications in the 
TymlV series, including 
financial application tem- 
plates, plotting software, 
banking packages, and com- 
munications. The TymlV 
series runs on MS-DOS, PC- 
DOS, and UNIX System V 
systems. Anthology is $495, 
and the suggested price for 
Six is $395. Specialized ap- 
plications range from $195 
to $1500. For details, con- 
tact InfoTym. TymlV 
Marketing. 20705 Valley 
Green Dr., Cupertino, CA 
95014, (408) 446-7406. 
Inquiry 639. 



426 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



WHAT'S 


NEW 






SOFTWARE 


•IBM 


P C 



Equation Processor Soft Winchester: Inexpensive, Alternative Hard Disk 



Equate is an equation 
processor for the IBM 
PC and compatibles using 
DOS 1.1 through 2.1. 

It lets you enter up to 799 
equations anywhere on 
screen in standard algebraic 
notation. A full-screen text 
editor facilitates equation 
and explanatory-text entry, 
and an interactive Constants 
Window gives you more 
than 400 physical constants 
and measurement conver- 
sions to insert into equa- 
tions. Equations or other 
constants can be added to 
the window. 

Equate evaluates your 
equations, prompts for 
undefined variables, and 
produces 16-bit (double- 
precision) results at the 
press of a function key. A 
forms feature helps you 
devise application work- 
sheets that prompt for data 
or arrange results into 
fables. Data cells can be 
sited at any spot on screen; 
rows or columns are not 
mandatory. 

Equations, results, and 
tables can be stored as 
worksheets. Worksheets may 
be printed or transferred to 
a word processor that ac- 
cepts ASCII files. 

The General Worksheet 
Series Disk I comes with 
Equate. It provides work- 
sheets for solving simulta- 
neous equations and for 
calculating standard devia- 
tion, variance, and the area 
and moments of inertia for 
principal shapes. 

Equate comes with an 
evaluation version that's 
good for 30 uses. The 
master disk and related 
materials can be returned to 
the manufacturer within 30 
days for a full refund. 
Equate is $195. Contact Ban- 
yan Systems Corp.. 5632 
East Third St., Tucson. AZ 
85711, (602) 745-8086. 
Inquiry 640. 



The BYSO Soft Win- 
chester program from 
Levien Instrument Company 
stores your most frequently 
used data in RAM so that 
you can access it quickly 
The manufacturer says that 
with Soft Winchester such 
programs as WordStar and 
dBASE II will load or sort 
hundreds of times faster 
than from a floppy. 



Soft Winchester lets you 
use 1440K bytes of data. If 
you have data that cannot 
be accessed from RAM or 
disk, it prompts you for the 
disk with the data. It auto- 
matically backs up your data 
to disk, and. once loaded, 
its operation is transparent. 
A simple key combination 
lets you use new 1440K-byte 
sets of data. 



The BYSO Soft Winchester 
runs on 128K-byte IBM Per- 
sonal Computers, including 
the PCjr, and true IBM com- 
patibles. A monochrome or 
graphics adapter is required. 
It costs $60. For more infor- 
mation, contact Levien In- 
strument Co., POB 31, 
McDowell. VA 244 58, (703) 
396-3345. 
Inquiry 641. 



FORTRAN and UNIX for AT 



Unisource Software Cor- 
poration has introduced 
a UNIX-based FORTRAN-77 
compiler for the IBM PC XT 
and PC AT. In a related 
development, the Massa- 
chusetts-based publisher 
and distributor of UNIX soft- 
ware also announced an im- 
plementation of UNIX for 
the IBM PC AT 



IBM Fits the Curves 



The FORTRAN compiler 
runs under VENIX on such 
machines as the lBMs, AT&T 
6300. Compaq Plus, Eagle 
Turbo. MAD 1. and DEC Pro- 
fessional 350. It costs $395. 

Its UNIX operating system, 
claims Unisource. is the first 
licensed implementation of 
AT&T UNIX for the the IBM 
PC AT This version is 



delivered with a System V 
UNIX license. A full im- 
plementation for one or two 
users retails for $875. For 
up to eight users, it's $1075. 

For further information, 
contact Unisource Software 
Corp.. 71 Bent St.. Cam- 
bridge MA 02141. (617) 
491-1264. 
Inquiry 642. 



A curve-fitting program 
for the IBM PC. Curve 
Fitter-PC is available directly 
from Interactive Microware. 
Curve Fitter-PC fits curves 
to experimental or business 
data. Curve types include 
polynomial, cubic spline, or 
Stineman interpolation 
methods. If you want, least- 



squares fitting can produce 
the standard curve using a 
polynomial (degree 1 to 6), 
geometric, or exponential 
least-squares method. Any 
or all fitting models can be 
used to select the best fit. 

Some statistical measures 
of the accuracy of the fitted 
curve provided are standard 



WHERE DO NEW PRODUCT ITEMS COME FROM? 
The new products listed in this section of BYTE are chosen 
from the thousands of press releases. letters, and telephone 
calls we receive each month from manufacturers, distributors, 
designers, and readers. The basic criteria for selection for 
publication are: (a) does a product match our readers' in- 
terests? and (b) is it new or is it simply a reintroduction of 
an old item? Because of the volume of submissions we must 
sort through every month, the items we publish are based 
on vendors' statements and are not individually verified. If 
you want your product to be considered for publication (at 
no charge), send full information about it, including its price 
and an address and telephone number where a reader can 
get further information, to New Products Editor, BYTE, POB 
372, Hancock, NH 03449. 



error of estimates and per- 
cent deviation for calculated 
versus observed values. 

Features include curve- 
fitting demonstrations, high- 
resolution (i.e., 320 by 200) 
graphics, choice of plotting 
symbols on the same graph 
for distinguishing multiple 
superimposed curves, the 
ability to enter data as x.y 
pairs or as values at fixed 
intervals, and four text-label 
locations. Working files can 
be saved and transferred to 
programs that accept ASCII 
data. 

Minimum requirements are 
I28K bytes of RAM, color 
graphics board, a disk drive, 
and PC-DOS 1,1, 2.0, or 2.1. 
The manual alone is $15; 
the complete package is 
$95. Contact Interactive 
Microware Inc.. POB 139, 
State College. PA 
16804-0139, (814) 238-8294. 
Inquiry 643. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 427 



Inquiry 302 



A 



!#% 



SUni7RuAiiCSCG.,ift 

12621 Crenshaw Blvd., Hawthorne, CA 90250 



NEW BRANCH STORE IN ORANGE COUNTY. CALIFORNIA 



1-800-421-5775 {Order Only) 

(213) 644-1140 (CA. Order& Inf.) 

STORE HOURS : 

Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

17552 BEACH BLVD.. #C. HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92647 (714) 842-1948 



TERMS: VISA. MASTER Card 
COD (Cash or Certified Check Re- 
quired). ChecMAIlow 2-3 WKS for 
Clearing) Shipping & H/C S3 00 tor 3 
Lbs plus 50C for each add LB Calif 
residents add Calif Sales Tax S10 00 
Minimum Order 

IBM & Apple are registered frade 
marks of IBM & Apple 



XT Compatible 
Products 



FEATURES: 

lintel 8088 CPU 

lintel 8087 Math Co-Processor (Option) 

^Expandable on-board to 256K 

^128K RAM w/Parity 

^8 IBM Compatible Expansion Slots 

^4 Channel DMA 8237 

^8 Channel Interrupt 8259 

^Mother Board dimension same as IBM PC 

Mother Board w/128K RAM $399.00 

Computer Cabinet $69.00 

□ 83 Key full-funtion Keyboard $99.00 

100 WATT Power Supply $110.00 

135 WATT Power Supply $145.00 

Monochrome Graphic Card 

w/Printer Port $210.00 

Color Graphic Card $149.00 

FDD Controller Card $99.00 

Parallel Printer Card $59.00 

ASYNC & RS232 Port $75.00 

320KB DS/DD Slimline Disk Drive $119.00 

IBM Parallel Cable 10' $19.95 

IBM Prototype Board (SUN-208) $9.50 

MICROLOG Z-80B Co-Processor, 
Multi-funtion (Run CP/M80 Software, 

Require 64K RAM) $499.00 

Apparat EPROM Blaster $129.00 

IBM Up-Grade Kit (4164) . . . S29 00/per kit 



| ^appta 



Compatible 
Products 



16K RAM Card $49.00 

SUN Z80 Card (w/o software) $55.00 

SUN 80 Column Card (w/Soft switch) $85.00 

Power Supply (5 Amp) $59.95 

Cooling Fan $42.00 

Parallel Printer Card $55.00 

Floppy Disk Controller $47.00 

EPROM Programmer (2716,32, 64) . . $75.00 

Apple Disk Drive $160.00 

APPARAT PROM Blaster $119.00 

Apple Prototype Board (SUN-722) $5.95 

Above items are not compatible with Apple He 



S- 100 Products 



64K Static Memory Board (6116) 

w/o RAM A & T $155.00 

64K Static Memory Board (6116) 

w/RAM A&T $295.00 

Uses 6116 CMOS RAMS, Va Amp Max, 
w/64K / 6MHz Extended Addressing, Bank 
Select 4-16K Blocks, 2716 EPROM can 
replace any 6116RAM. 8 Bit IEEE 696. 
UFDC-1 5 1 /4 and 8 Floppy Disk Controller 

(BIOS available) A&T $225.00 

Clock/Calendar A&T $11 5.00 

Prototype Board (SUN-721) $9.95 

Mother Board/Card Cages 

(6, 8 & 12 Slots) are available CALL 



General Products 



SAM WOO HIGH RESOLUTION MONITOR 
Features: 

,-•22 MHz Bandwidth 
^Composite Video 
^Anti-glare Screen 
v> Passes FCC & UL Approved 
'1000 Lines or 132 Characters Across 
12" AMBER or GREEN $99.00 

TAXAN RGB-Ill Monitor $420.00 

12" Green TTL Monitor 

(For IBM, 20 MHz) $135.00 

• 10MB Hard Disk Drive (Internal) 

w/ControllerforlBMPC $749.00 

• IBM Prototype Board (SUN-208) $9.50 

• IBM PC Mouse $147.00 

• Diskette DSDD5V4" $16.00/10 

• Koala Graphics Table w/Software 

for Apple . $89.00 

for IBM $105.00 

• Quad Board II $249.00 

• Quad 512 (64K) $259.00 

• RAM 4164 (150ns) $3.55 

TTL IC, ROM, RAM & CPU CHIPS, CONNEC- 
TORS & IC SOCKETS ARE AVAILABLE. 



SW40W 



HIGH REL 



SW70W 



SWITCHING POWER SUPPLIES * low cost 



SW80W 



SW138 



SW150 



S3& S4 




ITEM 

SW40W 

SW70W 

SW80W 

SW138 

SW150 



FOR 




R1 & R 1A 




±16V WxDxHin. 



TERMINALS 



PRICE 



TERM. & 2 ALPS DRIVES 2.5A 
APPLE III®, IBM PC-I, II" 7A 

PC WITH SOFT DRIVES 8A 

IBM PC-XT" P/S RPLCMNT 15A 
PC WITH HARD DRIVES 12A 



- 


2/2.5A pk. 


- 


3A 


,3A 


2.5/3.5A pk. 


- 


3A 


3A 


3/4A pk. 


- 


3A 


1.0A 


4/5A pk. 


- 


1.0A 


.3A 


4/5A pk. 


2.5A 


.5A 



6.3 x 3.9 x 1.9 

9.6 x 4 x 2.4 

7.4 x 4.5 x 2.3 
9.5x5.6x4.6 

10.4 x 5 x 2.5 



MOLEX5051 

MOLEX 126-P1 

MOLEX2139 

MOLEX, AMP. 

TERM. BLOCK 



$ 54.95 

64.95 

74.95 

119.95 

129.95 



SPECS. OF ABOVE SWITCHERS: 1 17/220 VAC SELECTABLE, INPUT 90- 132 VAC/ 180-275 VAC. EFFIC. 75% TYPICAL, LINE REGUL. 0.3%, LOAD 
REGUL. 1% ON +5V, 5% ON OTHER VOLTAGES, 6.2 OVP SETTING ON + 5V, OVERLOAD & SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECT, LOW OUTPUT RIPPLE & 
NOISE, 1% MAX, 50,000 HRS. MTBF RELIABILITY, UL, FCC & VDE SAFETY & NOISE STANDARDS. 

5 3 FOR S- 100, 10 SLOTS 5A 1A * - 5/7A pk. 12A 3A 10x6x5 SOLDER POST 

5 4 FOR S- 100, 6 SLOTS 4A 1A * - 4/5A pk. 8A 2.5A 8.4x5x4.8 SOLDER POST 
R! 2 FLOPPY DRIVES 3A 5A * - 3/4A pk 8x4x3.4 SOLDER POST 
R-IA APPLE II PC 3A .5A 3/4A pk. .5A 8 x 4 x 3.4 SOLDER POST 
C 64 COMPATIBLE TO COMMODORE C64 (OR C+4) s POWER SUPPLY: +5V/1.7A, 9 VAC/1A & 1 17 VAC IN, POTTED & U/L. 

*: +24V CAN BE CHANGED TO + 12V BY FACTORY, PLEASE SPECIFY WHEN YOU ORDER. C64 

THE ABOVE 5 LINEAR P/S ARE WITH 3% LOAD REGUL., OVP ON +5V, FUSED: INPUT & OUTPUTS. 



$105.95 
89.95 
44.95 
46.95 
19.95 



POWER TRANSFORMERS: (with mounting bracket) ON SALE 

ITEM PRIMARY SECOND. #1 SECOND. #2 SECOND. #3 W x D x H in. 



PRICE 






SHIPPING: 

FOR EA. POWER SUPPLY: $6.00 IN CALIF.; 
$8.00 IN OTHER STATES; $18.00 IN CANADA. 
FOR EA. TRANSFORMER: $6.00 IN ALL 
STATES; $12.00 IN CANADA. CALIF. 
RESIDENTS ADD 6.5% SALES TAX. 

IBM PC/PC-XT" APPLE ll/lll" & COMMODORE C64/C + 4 R ARE TRADEMARKS OF IBM CORP., APPLE COMPUTER INC. & COMMODORE BUSINESS MACHINES, RESPECTIVELY. 



T^ 


110/120 VAC 


2x8 VAC/7A 


28 VAC, CT, 2-5A 






3 3 4 x 3^8 x 3Ve 


$15.95 


To 


110/120 VAC 


2x8 VAC/12A 


28 VAC, CT, 3A 






3% x 4 3 /e x 3Vs 


21.95 


■h 


110/120 VAC 


2x8 VAC/6A 


28 VAC, CT, 2A 


28 VAC. 


CT, 3A 


3% x 4% x 3V8 


23.95 


T 4 


110/120 VAC 


16 VAC, CT 4A 


28 VAC, CT, 1.5A 


28 VAC, 


CT, 3A 


3% x 3 5 / 8 x 3Vs 


17.95 


T 4 -1 


110/120 VAC 


16 VAC, CT, 4A 


28 VAC, CT, 1.5A 


48 VAC, 


CT, 2A 


33/4 X 3 5 /8 X 3V8 


14.95 


T 5 


110/120 VAC 


16 VAC, CT, 3A 


28 VAC, CT, 2A 






3 x 3 x 2V 2 


11.95 



MAILING ADDRESS: 
P.O. BOX 4296 
TORRANQE, CA 90510 

TELEX: 182558 



SUNNY INTERNATIONAL 
* IN BUSINESS SINCE 1975 
(213) 328-2425 MON-FRI 8:30-5:30 



SHIPPING ADDRESS: 
22129V2 S. VERMONT AVE. 
TORRANCE, CA 90502 



428 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 30! 



IP!** 



UCMBRATIONl 

wpttom 



Inquiry 302 



^fe 



SUNTRON iCS COjRSC. 

12621 Crenshaw Blvd., Hawthorne, CA 90250 



1-800-421-5775 (Order Only) 

(213) 644-1 1 40 (CA. Order & Inf.) 

STORE HOURS : 

Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 



TERMS: VISA MASTER Card. 
C O D (Cash or Certified Check Re- 
quired), Check(Allow 2-3 WKS for 
Clearing) Shipping & H/C S3 00 for 3 
Lbs plus S0C for each add LB Calif 
residents add Catif Sales Tax S10 00 
Minimum Order 

IBM & Apple are registered trade 
marks of IBM & Apple 



NEW BRANCH STORE IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA : 17552 BEACH BLVD., #C, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92647 (714) 842-1948 



XT Compatible 
Products 



^cippta 



FEATURES: 

lintel 8088 CPU 

lintel 8087 Math Co-Processor (Option) 

-Expandable on-board to 256K 
^128K RAM w/Parity 

-8 IBM Compatible Expansion Slots 
^4 Channel DMA 8237 
^8 Channel Interrupt 8259 

-Mother Board dimension same as IBM PC 

I Mother Board W/128K RAM $399.00 

□ Computer Cabinet $69.00 

Q 83 Key full-funtion Keyboard $99.00 

100 WATT Power Supply $110.00 

I 135 WATT Power Supply $145.00 

Monochrome Graphic Card 
w/Printer Port $210.00 

□ Color Graphic Card $149.00 

□ FDD Controller Card $99.00 

□ Parallel Printer Card $59.00 

ASYNC & RS232 Port $75.00 

□ 320KB DS/DD Slimline Disk Drive $119.00 

□ IBM Parallel Cable 10' $19.95 

I IBM Prototype Board (SUN-208) . . . $9.50 

D MICROLOG Z-80B Co-Processor, 

Multi-funtion (Run CP/M80 Software, 

Require 64K RAM) $499.00 

Apparat EPROM Blaster $129.00 

IBM Up-Grade Kit (4164) . . . S 29 00- per kit 



Compatible 
Products 



16K RAM Card $49.00 

SUN Z80 Card (w/o software) $55.00 

SUN 80 Column Card (w/Soft switch) $85.00 

Power Supply (5 Amp) $59.95 

Cooling Fan $42.00 

Parallel Printer Card $55.00 

Floppy Disk Controller $47.00 

EPROM Programmer (2716,32, 64) . . $75.00 

Apple Disk Drive $160.00 

APPARAT PROM Blaster $119.00 

Apple Prototype Board (SUN-722) $5.95 

Above items are not compatible with Apple lie 



S-100 Products 



64K Static Memory Board (6116) 

w/o RAM A&T $155.00 

64K Static Memory Board (6116) 

w/RAM A&T $295.00 

Uses 6116 CMOS RAMS, Vi Amp Max, 
w/64K v 6MHz Extended Addressing, Bank 
Select 4-1 6K Blocks, 2716 EPROM can 
replace any 6116RAM, 8 Bit IEEE 696. 
UFDC-1 5V4 and 8 Floppy Disk Controller 

(BIOS available) A&T $225.00 

Clock/Calendar A&T $11 5.00 

Prototype Board (SUN-721) $9.95 

Mother Board/Card Cages 

(6, 8 & 12 Slots) are available .... CALL 



General Products 



SAM WOO HIGH RESOLUTION MONITOR 
Features: 

-22 MHz Bandwidth 
^Composite Video 
^Anti-glare Screen 
^Passes FCC & UL Approved 
^1000 Lines or 132 Charactors Across 
12" AMBER or GREEN $99.00 

TAXAN RGB-Ill Monitor $420.00 

12" Green TTL Monitor 

(For IBM, 20 MHz) $135.00 



SPECIAL SALE ITEMS 



• 10MB Hard Disk Drive (Internal) 

w/Controller for IBM PC $749.00 

• IBM Prototype Board (SUN-208) $9.50 

• IBM PC Mouse $147.00 

• Diskette DSDD 5 W $16.00/10 

• Koala Graphics Table w/Software 

for Apple $89.00 

for IBM $105.00 

• Quad Board II $249.00 

• Quad 512 (64K) $259.00 

• RAM 4164 (150ns) $3.55 

TTL IC, ROM, RAM & CPU CHIPS, CONNEC- 
TORS & IC SOCKETS ARE AVAILABLE. 



SW40W 



HIGH REL 



SW70W 



SWITCHING POWER SUPPLIES 



LOW COST 



SW80W 



SW138 



SW150 



S3& S4 





Rl & Ria 




ITEM 



FOR 



SW40W TERM. & 2 ALPS DRIVES 2.5A 

SW70W APPLE III-, IBM PC-I, II* 7A 

SW80W PC WITH SOFT DRIVES 8 A 

SW138 IBM PC-XT" P/S RPLCMNT 15A 

SW150 PC WITH HARD DRIVES 12A 



+ 12V 



+ 12V 



12V 



H24V 



+ 8V ±16V WxDxHin. 



TERMINALS 



PRICE 



- 


2/2.5A pk. 


3A 


2.5/3.5A pk. 


.3A 


3/4A pk. 


1.0A 


4/5A pk. 


,3A 


4/5A pk. 



2.5A 



.3A 

-3A 
-3A 
1.0A 
.5A 



6.3 x 3.9 x 1.9 
9.6 x 4 x 2.4 

7.4 x 4.5 x 2.3 

9.5 x 5.6 x 4.6 
10.4 x5 x2.5 



MOLEX5051 

MOLEX 126-P1 

MOLEX2139 

MOLEX, AMP. 

TERM. BLOCK 



$ 54.95 

64.95 

74.95 

119.95 

129.95 



SPECS. OF ABOVE SWITCHERS: 1 17/220 VAC SELECTABLE, INPUT 90-132 VAC/ 180-275 VAC, EFFIC. 75% TYPICAL, LINE REGUL. 0.3%, LOAD 
REGUL. 1% ON + 5V, 5% ON OTHER VOLTAGES, 6.2 OVP SETTING ON +5V, OVERLOAD & SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECT, LOW OUTPUT RIPPLE & 



MTBF RELIABILITY, UL, FCC & VDE SAFETY & NOISE STANDARDS. 

5A 1A * - 5/7A pk. 12A 3A 10 x 6 x 5 

4A 1A * - 4/5A pk. 8A 2.5A 8.4 x 5 x 4.8 

3A .5A * - 3/4A pk. - 8 x 4 x 3.4 

3A 5A 3/4A ok - 5A - - - 8x4x34 

COMPATIBLE TO COMMODORE C64 (OR C + 4)" POWER SUPPLY: + 5V/1.7A, 9 VAC/1A & 117 VAC IN, POTTED & U/L. 
+ 24V CAN BE CHANGED TO +12V BY FACTORY, PLEASE SPECIFY WHEN YOU ORDER. 
THE ABOVE 5 LINEAR P/S ARE WITH 3% LOAD REGUL., OVP ON + 5V, FUSED: INPUT & OUTPUTS. 



S 3 
S 4 

Rl 

RlA 

C64 



NOISE, 1% MAX, 50,000 HRS. 
FOR S-100, 10 SLOTS 
FOR S-100, 6 SLOTS 
2 FLOPPY DRIVES 
APPLE II PC 5 



SOLDER POST 
SOLDER POST 
SOLDER POST 
SOLDER POST 



$105.95 
89.95 
44.95 
46.95 
19.95 



C64 



POWER TRANSFORMERS: 

ITEM PRIMARY SECOND. #1 



(WITH MOUNTING BRACKET) ON SALE 

SECOND. #2 SECOND. #3 WxDxHin. 



PRICE 



--W 



SHIPPING: 

FOR EA. POWER SUPPLY: $6.00 IN CALIF.; 
$8.00 IN OTHER STATES; $18.00 IN CANADA. 
FOR EA. TRANSFORMER: $6.00 IN ALL 
STATES; $12.00 IN CANADA. CALIF. 
RESIDENTS ADD 6.5% SALES TAX. 

IBM PC/PC-XT". APPLE ll/lll" & COMMODORE C64/C+4" ARE TRADEMARKS OF IBM CORP., APPLE COMPUTER INC. & COMMODORE BUSINESS MACHINES, RESPECTIVELY. 



T1 


110/120 VAC 


2x8 VAC/7A 


28 VAC. CT, 2-5A 


- 


3% x 3 s /a x 3Vb 


$15.95 


T? 


110/120 VAC 


2 x8 VAC/12A 


28 VAC, CT, 3A 


- 


3% x 4% x 3Ve 


21.95 


T3 


110/120 VAC 


2x8 VAC/6A 


28 VAC, CT, 2A 


28 VAC, CT, 3A 


3% x 4% x 3 1 /8 


23.95 


T 4 


110/120 VAC 


16 VAC, CT, 4A 


28 VAC, CT, 1.5A 


28 VAC, CT, 3A 


3% x 3% x 3Va 


17.95 


T4-1 


110/120 VAC 


16 VAC, CT, 4A 


28 VAC, CT, 1.5A 


48 VAC, CT, 2A 


3% x 3 5 /e x 3Vs 


14.95 


T 5 


110/120 VAC 


16 VAC, CT, 3A 


28 VAC, CT, 2A 


- 


3 x 3 x 2 1 /2 


11.95 



MAILING ADDRESS: 
P.O. BOX 4296 
TORRANCE, C A 90510 



TELEX: 182558 



SUNNY INTERNATIONAL 

IN BUSINESS SINCE 1975 

(213) 328-2425 MON-FRI 8:30-5:30 



SHIPPING ADDRESS: 
22129V2 S. VERMONT AVE. 
TORRANCE, CA 90502 



428 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 30! 



WHAT'S NEW 



SOFTWARE 



IBM PC 



Equation Processor Soft Winchester: Inexpensive Alternative Hard Disk 



Equate is an equation 
processor for the IBM 
PC and compatibles using 
DOS 1.1 through 2.1. 

It lets you enter up to 799 
equations anywhere on 
screen in standard algebraic 
notation. A full-screen text 
editor facilitates equation 
and explanatory-text entry, 
and an interactive Constants 
Window gives you more 
than 400 physical constants 
and measurement conver- 
sions to insert into equa- 
tions. Equations or other 
constants can be added to 
the window. 

Equate evaluates your 
equations, prompts for 
undefined variables, and 
produces 16-bit (double- 
precision) results at the 
press of a function key A 
forms feature helps you 
devise application work- 
sheets that prompt for data 
or arrange results into 
tables. Data cells can be 
sited at any spot on screen; 
rows or columns are not 
mandatory. 

Equations, results, and 
tables can be stored as 
worksheets. Worksheets may 
be printed or transferred to 
a word processor that ac- 
cepts ASCII files. 

The General Worksheet 
Series Disk I comes with 
Equate. It provides work- 
sheets for solving simulta- 
neous equations and for 
calculating standard devia- 
tion, variance, and the area 
and moments of inertia for 
principal shapes. 

Equate comes with an 
evaluation version that's 
good for 30 uses. The 
master disk and related 
materials can be returned to 
the manufacturer within 30 
days for a full refund. 
Equate is $195. Contact Ban- 
yan Systems Corp., 5632 
East Third St., Tucson, AZ 
85711, (602) 745-8086. 
Inquiry 640. 



The BYSO Soft Win- 
chester program from 
Levien Instrument Company 
stores your most frequently 
used data in RAM so that 
you can access it quickly. 
The manufacturer says that 
with Soft Winchester such 
programs as WordStar and 
dBASE II will load or sort 
hundreds of times faster 
than from a floppy. 



Soft Winchester lets you 
use 1440K bytes of data. If 
you have data that cannot 
be accessed from RAM or 
disk, it prompts you for the 
disk with the data. It auto- 
matically backs up your data 
to disk, and, once loaded, 
its operation is transparent. 
A simple key combination 
lets you use new 1440K-byte 
sets of data. 



The BYSO Soft Winchester 
runs on 128K-byte IBM Per- 
sonal Computers, including 
the PCjr, and true IBM com- 
patibles. A monochrome or 
graphics adapter is required. 
It costs $60. For more infor- 
mation, contact Levien In- 
strument Co., POB 31, 
McDowell, VA 244 58, (703) 
396-3345. 
Inquiry 641 . 



FORTRAN and UNIX for AT 



Uni source Software Cor- 
poration has introduced 
a UNIX-based FORTRAN-77 
compiler for the IBM PC XT 
and PC AT. In a related 
development, the Massa- 
chusetts-based publisher 
and distributor of UNIX soft- 
ware also announced an im- 
plementation of UNIX for 
the IBM PC AT. 



IBM Fits the Curves 



The FORTRAN compiler 
runs under VEN1X on such 
machines as the IBMs, AT&T 
6300, Compaq Plus, Eagle 
Turbo, MAD 1, and DEC Pro- 
fessional 3 50. It costs $395. 

Its UNIX operating system, 
claims Unisource, is the first 
licensed implementation of 
AT&T UNIX for the the IBM 
PC AT This version is 



delivered with a System V 
UNIX license. A full im- 
plementation for one or two 
users retails for $875. For 
up to eight users, it's $1075. 

For further information, 
contact Unisource Software 
Corp., 71 Bent St., Cam- 
bridge, MA 02141, (617) 
491-1264. 
Inquiry 642. 



A curve-fitting program 
for the IBM PC, Curve 
Fitter-PC is available directly 
from Interactive Microware. 
Curve Fitter-PC fits curves 
to experimental or business 
data. Curve types include 
polynomial, cubic spline, or 
Stineman interpolation 
methods. If you want, least- 



squares fitting can produce 
the standard curve using a 
polynomial (degree 1 to 6), 
geometric, or exponential 
least-squares method. Any 
or all fitting models can be 
used to select the best fit. 
Some statistical measures 
of the accuracy of the fitted 
curve provided are standard 



WHERE DO NEW PRODUCT ITEMS COME FROM^ 
The new products listed in this section of BYTE are chosen 
from the thousands of press releases, letters, and telephone 
calls we receive each month from manufacturers, distributors, 
designers, and readers. The basic criteria for selection for 
publication are: (a) does a product match our readers' in- 
terests? and (b) is it new or is it simply a reintroduction of 
an old item? Because of the volume of submissions we must 
sort through every month, the items we publish are based 
on vendors' statements and are not individually verified. If 
you want your product to be considered for publication (at 
no charge), send full information about it. including its price 
and an address and telephone number where a reader can 
get further information, to New Products Editor, BYTE, POB 
372, Hancock, NH 03449. 



error of estimates and per- 
cent deviation for calculated 
versus observed values. 

Features include curve- 
fitting demonstrations, high- 
resolution (i.e., 320 by 200) 
graphics, choice of plotting 
symbols on the same graph 
for distinguishing multiple 
superimposed curves, the 
ability to enter data as x.y 
pairs or as values at fixed 
intervals, and four text-label 
locations. Working files can 
be saved and transferred to 
programs that accept ASCII 
data. 

Minimum requirements are 
128K bytes of RAM, color 
graphics board, a disk drive. 
and PC-DOS 1.1, 2.0. or 2.1. 
The manual alone is $15: 
the complete package is 
$95. Contact Interactive 
Microware Inc., POB 139. 
State College, PA 
16804-0139, (814) 238-8294. 
Inquiry 643. 



FEBRUARY 1985 'BYTE 427 




GUARANTEED 
LC's. SHIPPED 
IMMEDIATELY 



The Computer Parts Merchant is a leading nationwide 
supplier of wholesale LC's. We have just about every I.C. 
made in stock today. Plus, we offer these special services: 



Guaranteed parts— every part 
guaranteed for 60 days— and pre- 
tested before shipment. 



Guaranteed fast- 
shipping. 



-same day- 



Guaranteed low prices. 

Guaranteed satisfaction or pur- 
chase price cheerfully refunded. 



How to order. 

Call toll free. We accept Visa, 
Mastercard or American Express. 
Or we can ship UPS C.O.D. 
National 800-235-4900 
California 800-238-4900 
Local Orange County 
(714)474-1033. 




CPM 

The Computer 
Parts Merchant, Inc. 



Visit our retail store: 

The Computer Parts Merchant, Inc. 
17777 Main Street, Suite D 
Irvine, CA 92714 

Terms: minimum order $10. For 
shipping and handling, include 
$2.50 UPS Ground, or $3.50 for 
UPS Air, California residents 
must include 6% sales tax. All 
prices are subject to change with- 
out notice. We are not responsible 
for typographical errors. All mer- 
chandise subject to prior sale. 

Search service. If we don't have 
the I.C. you need in stock, we can 
find it for you. (There is a $25 min- 
imum charge for I.C.'s found 
through a search.) 

A few samples from our million 
part inventory: 



A few samples from our million 
part inventory: 



74SXX 



LINEAR DEVICES 



74LS00 
74LS02 
74LS04 
74LS08 
74LS10 
74LS11 
74LS12 
WLS14 
74 1 S20 
74LS21 
74LS30 
74LS32 
74LS37 
74LS38 
74LS4Q 
74LS42 
74LS51 
JA\ S54 
74LS63 
74LS74 



S 38 
38 
40 
■Hi 
,:n 
40 
36 
76 
38 
38 
38 
50 
40 
40 
38 
66 
36 
38 
• 50 
55 



74LSXX 

S 87 



74LS83 

74LS86 
74LS91 
74LS93 
74LS107 
74LS109 
74LS112 
74LS122 
74LS124 
74LS132 
74LS137 
74LS138 
74LS147 
74LS151 
74LS153 
74LS157 
74LS158 
74LS161 
74LS166 
74LS169 
Partial List 



46 
46 

50 

53 
2 90 
91 
99 
87 



65 
65 

-5 

195 
175 



74LS170 
74LS191 
74LS221 
74LS240 
74LS241 
74LS242 
74LS243 
74LS244 
74LS245 
74LS251 
74LS257 
74LS258 
'41 5266 
74LS273 
74LS373 
74LS374 
74LS377 
74LS640 
74LS669 
74LS670 



5, 8, 12 AND 15 VOLT 
VOLTAGE REGULATORS 

Call for Prices 



S149 
99 

130 
160 
130 
130 

130 

1 49 

1 49 

76 

75 

75 

79 

169 

1 49 

1 49 

1 49 
3 49 
199 

2 99 



74SO0 

74S02 

74S04 

74S08 

74S10 

74S11 

74S20 

74S22 

74S30 

74S32 

74S37 

74S38 

74S74 

74S86 

74S112 

74S113 

74S124 

74S132 

74S138 

74S139 

74S140 



45 

49 

49 
49 

45 

49 
4^ 
4^ 

35 
59 



95 
1 19 

1 19 

2 99 
159 

97 
97 
77 



74S151 
74S153 
74S157 
74S161 
74S169 
74S174 
74S181 
74S194 
74S197 
74S240 
74S241 
74S244 
74S251 
74S253 
74S257 
74S260 
74S273 
74S287 
74S373 
74S374 
74S570 



Call for others 



TMS4027 S 

MM5280 

TMS4060 

UPD411 

MK4108 



195 
195 



4116 

2118 

4164 

TMS4416 

41256 



S97 
97 
97 

187 

3 99 
99 

4 39 
199 
179 
2 20 
2 40 
2 20 

95 
95 
95 
79 
2 45 

2 29 

3 39 
3 39 
3 50 



DYNAMIC RAMS 



$149 

4 95 

5 95 
9 95 

Call 



LM301 

LM307 

LM309H 

LM312 

LM318 

LM324 

LM350 

LM380 

LM393 

NE555 

NE556 



Call for more 



7400 
7401 
7402 
7404 
7406 
7407 
7408 
7410 
7411 
7420 
7421 
7427 
7430 
7432 
7438 
7442 



S 47 

57 
1.95 
1.75 
149 

79 
4 95 

89 
1.29 

57 

77 



NE570 

LM709 

LM723 

LM741 

LM747 

LM748 

LM1458 

LM2900 

LM3900 

MC4024 

MC4044 



S3 95 
59 
59 

49 
69 
59 
59 
85 
79 

3 95 

4 50 



STATIC 
RAMS 



CMOS 



S 35 
35 



41 

35 
39 
3d 
49 
45 
35 
35 
49 



74XX 



7451 

7473 

7474 

7489 

7498 

7492 

74107 

74109 

74123 

74125 

74132 

74147 

74151 

74153 

74154 

74157 



S 39 

54 

69 

3 40 

47 



175 
79 
79 

1 25 
79 



2101 


SI 95 


2114 


1 50 


2147 


4 95 


TMS4044 


4 59 


"■.".•30 -6 


4 59 


HM6116 


4 75 


TMS4016 


695 


HM6264 


39 95 



Others on shelf 



74160 
74161 
74163 
74164 
74166 
74174 
74181 
74191 
74193 
74194 
74221 
74273 
74366 
74367 
74393 



.99 

1 50 
99 

2 39 
1 15 

99 

99 

135 

195 

99 

99 

135 



4001 
4002 
4008 
4010 
4011 
4012 
4020 
4021 
4022 
4030 
4034 
4040 
4041 
4050 
4069 
4071 
4082 
4093 
4502 
4512 
4522 
4532 
4556 
4585 



S 35 
35 
95 
57 
37 
37 
87 
95 
87 
57 
195 
97 
97 
47 
35 
35 
35 
67 
95 
97 
125 
195 
99 
99 



74C00 
74C02 
74C04 
74C08 
74C10 
74C20 
74C30 
74C73 
74C74 
74C86 
74C90 
74C93 
74C151 
74C157 
74C161 
74C173 
74C174 
74C192 
74C193 
74C373 
74C374 
74C906 
74C912 
74C921 



Many more Call 



S 49 
47 

4 7 
47 
47 
49 
49 
87 
79 
59 
1 19 

1 75 

2 25 
1 75 
1 79 

79 

1 19 
149 
149 

2 45 
2 45 

95 
8 95 
15 95 



MEMORY EPR0MS 



Otners on shelf 



2708 S3 95 2764 

2716 3 95 27128 

2732 4 95 

More available 



S6 95 
34 95 



Inquiry 68 



FEBRUARY I985 •BYTE 431 



Inquiry 78 



CCT-4 



SYSTEM 
SERIES 



The latest CCT implementation of the new 
generation Intel 16-Bit Processor technology. 
This means extreme speed, unequaled power, 
and the ultimate in reliability, and of course, the 
innovators at CCT behind it. 



This series in the CCT line exploits the speed and power of the Intel 80286 and Zilog Z-80H (8MHz), on the 286Z CPU 
board. This combination, along with CompuPro DMA controllers and I/O boards, yields a dramatic improvement in system 
throughput speeds, from basic CP/M operation, up to large powerful multi-user/multi-tasking machines. The CCT-4 
represents the most advanced hardware presently available in a microcomputer to run the thousands of CP/M type 
software programs on the market, and with CONCURRENT DOS 8-16 and the CompuPro PC Graphics board (when 
available), all software written for the IBM PC machines. This series is for the serious business/scientific user. 



CCT-4A 



CCT-4B 



CCT-4C 



State-of-the-art power in it's basic form. Consists of CCT-286Z CPU board and CCT-M256 (256K), along with Com- 
puPro: Enclosure 2 Desk (21 slot MF), Disk 1A, System Support 1, Interfaced, the CCT-2.4 floppy drive system, and 
CP/M 80 and CP/M 86, and with Surgefree SF-200 surge suppressor system $5,995.00 

Single-user/hard disk power. As the 4A, except priced without the CCT-2.4, to add in your choice of CCT hard/floppy 

combination drive subsystem, at the published pricing $4,895.00 

(Example: CCT-4B Mainframe with CCT-10/ 1 = $7, 244.00) Plus cost of selected dnve ^system 



Multi-user/hard disk power. As the 4B, with the CCT-M512 (512K static RAM board) instead of M256; Interfacer 3 in- 
stead of Interfacer 4; Surgefree SF-400 instead of SF-200, plus MP/M 8-16 operating system. (6 user system) $6,695.00 
(Example: CCT-4C Mainframe with CCT-40/1 = $10,044.00) Plus cost of se| ected drive subsystem 

CCT BONUS ON 4C: FREE CONCURRENT DOS UPDATE! 

The above systems include all necessary cabling, assembly, testing, minimum 20 hour burn-in, 
^^J* and the CCT unconditional 12 month direct warranty. 

CCT-M512 CCT introduces it's 512K static RAM board. IEEE Standard 12MHz. 512K in one slot! Introductory Price: $2,249 
CCT-M256 256K version of M512 upgradeable to full 512K. Perfect 256K RAM board for any CompuPro system ... $1,149 

CUSTOM COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY / BOX 4160 / SED0NA, ARIZONA 86340 

TOLL FREE ORDERING: 800-222-8686 / For technical support / service: 602-282-6299 



,# 




IBM PC, 256 K, One Half Height 320 K Disk Drive DS/DD, 
Persyst Color Card, Taxan Green Monitor, DOS 2.1 
PLUS a 10MB Hard Disk Sub System all for: 

$2690.00 

IBM PC, 256 K, Two Half Height Drives DS/DD. Persyst 
Color Card, Taxan Green Monitor. DOS 2.1. 130 Watt 
Power Suply PLUS a 10MB Hard Disk Sub System all for: 

$2980.00 

IBM PC, 256 K, Two Half Height Drives DS/DD, Persyst 
Color Card, Taxan Green Monitor, DOS 2.1, 130 Watt 
Power Supply, 10MB Hard Disk Sub System, PLUS 
10MB Tape Back Up System all for: 

$3579.00 

IBM PC, 256 K, Two Half Height Drives DS/DD. Persyst 
Color Card, Taxan Green Monitor, DOS 2.1, 130 Watt 
Power Supply. 20MB Hard Disk Sub System all for: 

$3380.00 

IBM PC, 256 K, Two Half Height Drives DS/DD, Persyst 
Color Card, Taxan Green Monitor, DOS 2.1, 130 Watt 
Power Supply, 20MB Hard Disk Sub System PLUS 10MB 
Tape Back Up System all for: 

$3979.00 
(We configure and test the system for you at no extra 
cost.) 



S O M E B O D Y Has To Have The Lowest Prices! 



MONITORS 


AMDFK WO 


$135 00 


PfiS HX-1? 


$475 on 


PGS MAX-12 


$190 00 


PnS .qR-1? 


$fi?5 ()(\ 


TAXAN RRFFN mMPrVRlTF 


$i?snn 


TAXAN AMBER COMPOSITE 


$13.5 nn 


TAXAN GREEN W/TTLPLUS 


$149 00 


TAXAN AMBER W/TTLPLUS 


$159 00 


IBM MONOCHROME DISPLAY 


$?ro no 


irm r.m or nispi ay 


$590 00 




PRINTERS 


FPRDN FXftn 


$425 00 


fpson fx inn 


$fi?5 00 


FPSON Rx-Rfl 


$?45 00 


FPRON RX HOFT 


$?95 on 


OKmATAfl?A 


$?99 no 


OKIDATA 83A 


$569.00 


OKIDATA 92P 


$399 00 


OKIDATA 93P 


$625.00 


OKIDATA 84P 


$759.00 


OKIDATA 241 OP 


$1959.00 


TDRHIRA P13S1 


$1295.00 


NFn SPINWRITFR 355n 


$1595.00 


NFH PINWRITFR Af) COI 


$R99 on 


NEC PINWRITER 136 COL 


$R99 on 


RROTHFR HR-95 


$R99 nn 


RROTHFR HR-^ 


$9?5 nn 


(Accessories on NEC & OKIDATA printers 


available) 


DRIVES 


TANinnisj TM-mn-? 


$179,00 


SI IMl INF - TORHIRA 


$155 nn 


SLIMLINE - TEAC 55B 


S 155.00 




MULTIFUNCTION BOARDS 


AST 1/0+1 SFR A 1 PAR 


$179 no 


AST SIX PACK 64K, 1 SER & 1 PAR 


$269.00 


QUADBOARD 64K 


$269.00 


IRM CHI OR GRAPHIC ADAPTFR 


$??5 no 



IBM MONO PRINTER ADAPTER 
PERSYST COLOR ADAPTER__ 



PERSYST MONO PRINTER ADAPTER. 

HERCULES GRAPHIC ADAPTER_ 

HERCULES COLOR CARD 

STB GRAPHIX PLUS II ^__ 



CONTROL DATA DISKETTES. 

KEYTRONIC KB5151 

PARALLEL CABLES 

64K RAM UPGRADE KIT. 



128K RAM UPGRADE KIT {For AT) _ 
IBM PC POWER SUPPLY {Original) 
63.5 Watts. 
IBM KEYBOARD FOR PC {Original) 



. $230.00 
. $190.00 
$210.00 
, $349.00 
_ $210.00 
. $375.00 



MODEMS 


HAYES SMART MODEM 1200 
HAYFS SMART MOOFM .Wl 


$469.00 
$?n9 nn 


hayfs i?nnR pi no in oaro 


$4?9 no 


QIIRIF PO ?1?A/1?0f) INT 


$?75 no 


QUBIE PC 212E/120O EXT 


J299nn 




HARD DISKS 


10MRSURRYRTFM INT 


$A5n nn 


10MB SUB SYSTEM fxt 


$m?5 nn 


mMRTAPF RACK UP 


$599 no 




GENERAL 



. $25.00/box 

$189 00 

$25.00 

$50.00 

__ $199.00 




(714) 838-7530 

2640 Walnut Avenue, Unit K, 
Tustin, California 92680 

(Prices & availability subject to change without notice- 
IBM is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation.) 



432 B YTE • FEBRUARY 198^ 



Inquiry 216 



CCT 



CUSTOM COMPUTER 
TECHNOLOGY 



TOLL-FREE 

ORDERING: 

800-222-8686 

FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT/ 1 CCT PLAZA — P.O. BOX 4160 — SEDONA, ARIZONA 86340 

SERVICE / IN ARIZONA' Purchase your Hardware and Software directly from an OEM / Systems Integrator. Take advantage of our buying power! We stock a 

* full line of Board Level Components, Software and Peripherals. Call for your needs. We'll give you the Lowest Prices, and the Technical 

602-282-6299 Support and Know-How we are quickly becoming well-known for. Satisfied Customers Nationwide. The Nations Custom Systems House 
for Business. Education and Science. Call for a system quote. CCT implements tomorrow's technology today! 



• FOREMOST QUALITY • ADVANCED SUPPORT • REASONABLE COST 








CCT 



© 



CompuPro 



80286 NOW! 

□ CCT-286Z is our model designation 
for the MI-286 dual processor board 
fromMacrotech. It features the super 
high speed combination of Z-8QH and 
80286, with provision for the 80287 
math chip. Directly replaces 8085/88 
and 8086 CPUs running CP/M. MP/M 
Concurrent DOS, and MS-DOS, at 
throughput increases of 3X to 5X! 
SPECIAL PRICE $1099 
80287 Option - Installed - $395 

SEE THE CCT-4 SERIES 

USING THIS BOARD 

DETAILED ON THE FACING PAGE 



INDUSTRIAL GRADE 
SUPERIOR QUALITY 



CCT DISK DRIVE SYSTEMS 

S-100 HARD DISK SUBSYSTEMS 



ROLLS ROYCES OF 
THE INDUSTRY 



• 8" CP/M SOFTWARE SPECIALS • 

dBASE II - Latest Version 2.4 $349 

Supercalc 86 $99: Superealc2 $259 

Wordstar $279r:Pro-Pak $379 

DRICBASIC Compiler 80 $389 86 $449 

DRI Pascal Compiler 80 $279 86 $449 

DRIGSX-86 $79 Assembler Tools/ R MAC $179 

Microsoft BASIC $299 iCompller $339 

Supersoft FORTRAN IV $3391 CComp $399 

• TOP SELLING PERIPHERALS • 

Wyse Terminals -DROPPED- 

LIBERTY TERMINALS 
• Superior Reliability • 

100-12" GREEN-25X 80 $399 

110-14" GREEN-80/132 Column ... $499 
200-14" GREEN-80/132 Super Deluxe $569 
220-14" GREEN-DEC Compatible $699 

CCTRECOMMENDS- 
AMBER Screen Options $20 

OKIDATA PRINTERS - Top Quality 
82 -80 Col $329 83 -132 Col $619 
92 -80 Col $429 93 -132 Col $659 
84 - 132 Col/200cps-Top of the Line $799 
For Serial Interfaces - Add $100 

DIABLO — Letter Quality Series 
Model 620 $969 Model 630 $1799 



Professionally engineered ST-506 type systems for the business market S-100 Computer user. In- 
cludes industry top quality drives, CompuPro Disk 3 DMA controller, all cabling, A&T, formatted, 
burned-in. Provisionsfor up to two hard disks in each system. We include operating system update. 
CP/M 80, CP/M 86, CP/M 8-16, MP/M 8-16, CP/M 68K. (/ 1 Systems are CCT innovated hard/floppy 
combinations, with Mitsubishi DSDD 8" drive.) 12 month warranty. 

CCT-10(11 + MEG) $1799 CCT-1071 $2349 

CCT-20 (22 + MEG) $2319 

CCT-40 (36 + MEG) $2799 

CCT-60(58 + MEG) (New) $3999 

CCT-90(87 + MEG) (New) $5209 

CCT-125(123 + MEG) (New) $6399 



CCT-20/1 $2869 

CCT-40/1 $3349 

CCT-60/1 $4549 

CCT-9071 $5759 

CCT-125/1 $6949 



Drive capacities shown are after formatting! We are working on tape cartridge back-up units. 



CCT-2.4 • Dual 8" DSDD FL0PPY SYSTEMS CCT-5 • 5% M DSDD 

Mitusbishi 2.4 Megabyte in Extra Heavy horizontal enclosure, IBM Compatible Tandon 320K. Extra Heavy Cabinet 
removeable filter air system, all cabling. A&T Burned in. The accommodates two drives, hard or floppy All cabling. A&T. 
fastest system available; $1229 Burned-in. Perfect for our MS-DOS Package $399 



* SUPER PRICES * COMPUPRO COMPONENTS * IN STOCK * 

CCT-2-$G799 • CCT-3-$6699 • Disk 1A w/CP/M - $619 • CPU 8086/87 - $819 • M-Drive/H - $1099 

CPU 8085/88 -$349 • CPU 8086 - $559/1 OMhz - $599 • CPU68K-$519/10Mhz-$639 

CPU-Z-S249 • Disk 1A- $519 • Disk 3 -$499 • RAM23/64K-$309/128K-$599 • RAM 21 (128K)-$749 

• RAM 16 CLOSE-OUT SPECIAL $249 * 

RAM22(256K)-$1179 • Interfacer 3 - $499 • Interfaced -$349 • System Support 1 - $329 

Enclosure 2 Desk -$649/Rack- $699 • CP/M80(CCTHMX) -$125 • CP/M86<CCTTMX)-$175 

CP/M 8-16 (CCTTMX)- $199 • MP/M 8-16 (CCTSX) - $499 • CP/M 68K(CCTCX)- $279 



16 Bit Upgrade Kit: CP/M 86, RAM 16, System Support 1, Cable $709 CP/M 8-16 - Kit - $733 



Operating System Updates/Remakes - $30 
FREE CONCURRENT DOS 8-16 UPGRADE (WHEN AVAILABLE) WITH PURCHASE OF MP/M 8-16 ' 



CCT-1 - ENTRY LEVEL S-100 BUSINESS SYSTEM 



• Enclosure 2-Desk-20 Slot Mainframe « 
• CPU 8085/88 - 6Mhz 8085/8Mhz 8088 • 

• Disk 1A - DMA Floppy Disk Controller • 

• RAM 16 - 64K Static RAM - 12Mhz • 

• Interfacer 4 - 3 Serial/2 Parallel I/O • 



• CCT-2.4-Dual 8" Mitsubishi 
DSDD Drive System - 2.4 Megabytes • 

• CP/M 80-2.2 HMX - CCT Modified • 

• All Cabling, Complete CCT Assembly, 
Testing, and Minimum 20 Hour Burn-in • 



SPECIAL PRICE 

$3,559 



RUNS ALL STANDARD 8" CP/M SOFTWARE - INCLUDES OUR EXCLUSIVE 12 MONTH DIRECT WARRANTY 



Prices & availability subject to change. All products new, and carry full manufacturer's warranties. Call for catalog. Free technical help to anyone. Alt products we sell are CCT individually 
tested and set up for your system - Plug- In & Go! Arizona residents add sales tax CCT ! Trademark — Custom Computer Technology; MS-DOS ' Trademark — Microsoft; IBM a Trademark 
International Business Machines; CompuPro" Trademark — W.J. Godbout; CP/M" MP/M" Trademarks — Digital Research 



Inquiry 79 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 433 



m 



'icro 
products 

international 

^714/898-0840 



^V 



f&w? * 






- /o^ % 




Sw eetheart Spec ials 

New Hayes Smart Modem Compatible! 



price breakthrough : r a -tav< 

7iode~ ' e is without 

'd r ve- software nut H you need t ado S25.CC 

Call for a 26 page catalog ot our special dea,s 

s spot every month fa H 
lo eaten your interest 



hayes comnjr cations software 
• FCC apprvd tor direct RJ-1 1 connection 
jded fc 

•jioD-eioo-oo $229.00* 






IBM PC-XT SELECTRIC KEYBOARDS 

^. ~W Our .oiu^e purchase c< itiese excelled 
features -. anting down to a ;- • 

you'll love if • S:ngle Key ^eset 

• Separate numeric Keypad 

• Sepav- 
• Dimple mamed 5 F ijneys rjp ■ 

00 Select c S1 29.00 

050-00 Standard 89.00* 



IBM STYLE MOTHERBOARDS 

Two IBM -style Motherboards to 
choose from 5-slot and 8-slot 
Both expandable to 256K 
5-slot has two serial slots and 
one parallel 



BOA-6000-00 5-Slot 



$395.00 



BOA-6058-00 8-Slot 




ADD-ON POWER SUPPLY 






a 



* 



D'S< i Tape Back-Up 

iBM Replacement type for Ham I>sk 







New High Velocity Fan! 

New Low Price! 

POW-1 040-00 $129.00 



POWER BACKUP 

Protect your Data n Bi Daasmeld ' in case of a Power failure Datasrueld ' is a battery operated 
self -contained Power Generator which instantly supplies even > . __ ^^ 

uninterrupted AC Power to a Microprocessor m the event of a Power 
Drop or Outage in addition provides Surge Protection wnicn filters « 

and eliminates voltage spikes (surges) above 1 40 VAC CK'tcSJo j * 

PC-200 200 wans POW-2000-00 $299.00* I 

PC-300 300 watts POW-?0 50-00 $399.00* 



Do it Yourself! 



We think of this System as a "Do it Yourself" System. Start by choosing 
5 or 8 Slots. Some of the standard Features. • 64K RAM expandable 
to 256K • 4 DMA Channels • Runs MS-DOS™ ana CP M-86™ 
[software not included) • Multifunction Keyboard & Cable 
• Hard Disk Ready Power Supply • And MORE 1 
SYS-8000-00 Only $525.00* 






IBM :>ce Case only 
5 5tol 

8Sio: 



d 



CAB-3060-00 $65.00* 
CAB-3075-00 $65.00* 



This is OUR Junior! 

Use this Vnveiess workstation for low-cost Networking. 
Features; • 4-slot IBM™ compatible Motherboard 
• 1 28K Standard Memory • 8088.8087 Math Co-pro- 
cessor • Optional Floppy Dnve with Controllers 
SYS-81 00-00 $475.00* 

Full System w Keyboard. Mono Monitor Video Display 
Card 128K RAM 1 Drive SYS-8725-00 $895.00* 



NEW 

IBM "AT" 
1.2M Floppy 
In Stock - For 
your XPC! 
Can Read 
3.0 or 2.1 a 

DOS 
Formats! 



*1245* $ 1245* s 1245* 

Complete VD f* w^« 

System! Art by A OR 

-lOMegH.D. 



Add-On H.D. 




'OEM 
Qty 12 + 



,7/ 



iV 



\ 



Complete System 1 

M895 00 * 

20 Meg Color 
$237500* 

40 Meg w/Tape 

Complete 

$ 2845°°* 

Software 

• XWORD 

• XBASIC 
XBASE 
XCALC 
XCOM 



10 Meg S1295* 
20 Meg S149S* 
40 Meg S1995- 



& Tape 

10 Megabyte Irwin on the 
top. your choice of Hard Disk 
on the bottom Super ap- 
pearance! Requires one slot 
in your PC for SASI interface 
and an extension connector 
on the floppy card Every- 
thing else is supplied by us 
65 Meg $2895* 
105 Meg $3695* 
140 Meg S4595* 



Add-On Hard Disk 

Two ways to 90 The internal syste 
ic'"eeda p S& Chassis The sat 
eCtofaiOMegTapeBacH--:or 
10 Megabyte 
s 795,m7 s 995ext 
20 Megabyte 
s 1095mt/ s 1295ext 

40 Megabyte 
S 1595,nt/M795ext 



s c r ieape r oecause tu 



65 Megabyte 
*2495 

105 Megabyte 
s 3295 

140 Megabyte 
'4195 



/// 






\\ 



Check These Standard Features: 

• Full-Size. Feathe r -Toucti. Capacitance Keyboard with 10 Function Keys and Calculator-Type Numeric Keypad • 

• Comes Standard with Parallel and Serial I'O • Game Port • 2-Shmline 5' '. * DS<DD 48 TPi 360K Drives • 

* 8 IBM compatipleexpansion slots • Real Time CIock ■ Coior Video Card * 

• 256K parity checked RAM on Motherboard • 8088 16-bit CPU • 4 DMA & 3 Timer channels • 

• Up 10 32K of EPR0M ifuii BK supplied* • Suppons PC-DOS - MS-DOS - CPM-86 • 

• Power Supply is Hard-Disk-Ready, no ■ High resolution 12 " Monitor *ith Green 

need to add-on additional power Screen ■ 18 MHz bandwidth 



Add-On 10 Meg Tape 




if your iBM-XT needs a iTfi* 
help in the Back-up category 
you won't be able to beat ton 
price' Cables, software am 
everything 1 



SUB-8300-00- 



$495.00' 



Not enough room here - Call for Catalog 



February Dealer Honors 

Culbertson 
& Assoc. 




*•' 



• * 



Dick Culbertson says. "I 
\have been writing application 

r-^fiprograms with dBase il since 
it's introduction. I recommend 
Micro Product's XPC 
^^Systems for their reliability and 
fcA Mj their application programs 

fJ Among these is a very exten- 
sive Chiropractic Billing System, a Point-of-Sale Inven- 
tory Program for Video Tape Rental Stores, a Vending 
Machine Route Service Collection System and an Air- 
port Flight School record Keeping System. " 

Dick buys Basic Systems and then customizes them 
with his own components to satisfy the needs of his 
customers. To date he has over 27 Micro Computer 
Systems in service and working satisfactorily. 
* 1461 1 Leahy Ave. * Bellflower. CA * 213 I 866-8608 • 



The lollowing are registered Trademarks aid ther Companies MS-DOS PC-DOS MicroSot. dBase 
It-AsMon-Tate CP. M-86 -Digital Research inc IBM IBM-PC IBM-PC XT ■ international Business 
Machines 



SUPER 12 PAK MULTIFUNCTION 

This one is loaded' Features: Reai-Time Chronograph Calenoa r win Battery 
Back-up Parallel Port RS232-C Serial Port *64K to 256K of Parity-checked 
Memory. PrintSpool and RAM Disk Software 



Supplied with OK of Memory 
Optional Serial Kit w cable 
KIT-8450-00 $ 25.00 

* Additional 64K Memory Chips 
ICC-7801-00-(9) $ 29.95 



BOA-6400-00 $179.00 



INTERNATIONAL ORDERS 

Micro Products is r eady to serve your needs in several countries Each Office 
nas Saies Literature Local Pricing Inventory and Technical Service available to 
support your needs. There are no problems with US Export Forms. 



HEAD OFFICE 
Darryl R. Green 

1 5392 Assemoly Lane. Unit A 

Huntington Beach. CA 92649 

Phone 714 898-0840 

Telex 887841 XORDATA HTBH 

ZURICH OFFICE 

Cynthia Clark 

Eidnahstrasse 36 

CH 8032 Zurich 

Switzerland 

Phone 1-69 3633 

Telex 816058 HKIN 

AUSTRALIAN OFFICE 

8 Irwm Street Bellevue 

W Australia 6056 

Phone. 274-3701 



TAIPEI OFFICE 
William Wang 

Suite 605, Worldwide House 

685MinShengE Rd 

Ta.pe Taiwan. ROC 

Tel (02) 71 2-8877 Tlx 21405 

MARACAIBO OFFICE 

Jim Stevens 

Av 3FEsq CalleSI 

Centre Com Maelga - Local *5 

Maracabo Venezuela 4001 -A 

Phone 061-913328 

Telex 62344 PEMIN 

CANADIAN OFFICE 

- - PENDING - - 




PROM LASER 

This is the One! Our PROM Burner allows reading, storing-to-disk, recalling, ano 
burning. Hi - speed atgorithmes burns 2764 
m 45 seconds 1 Also handles 2716 2732 
27128. 27256. Features: Zero insertion 
force sockets: Oi-board Voltage Generator 
No Interference with normal computer 
operations 
BOA-8640-00 $199.00 

MISCELLANEOUS SSS SAVERS 

64K Memory Chips (9) NEC for IBM ICC-7801-0C $ 29.95 

Add-On Memory, <up to 512K) supplied OK BOA-8650-00 $149.00 

Floppy Controller. Controls up to four drives. 5'« "48/96 TPI 
BOA-6100-00... $95.00 

Monochrome Graphics Card. (Hercules type) (1-2-3 compatible) 720h x 348v 

BOA-8500-00 $175.00 

Color Graphics Card. 320 x 200 Res. Color. 640 x 200 Monochrome 

BOA-8400-00 $145.00 

Clock Calendar Board. Parallel Port, fits in short slot w/baltery Backup 

BOA-8700-00 $75.00 

Hard Disk Controller, standard ST-506 interface for DOS 1.1 & 2.0 

BOA-8050-00 $245.00 

300 1 1200 Baud Modem w PC Talk III Communications Software 

BOA-8725-00 $239.00 

Monochrome Monitor, 18MHz bandwidth, composite input or TTL 

MON-1000-00 Green $ 99.50 

MON-1010-00 Amber $104.50 



Inquiry 212 

Micro Products 



15392 Assembly Lane 



Huntington Beach, CA 92649 



714/898-0840 



STOP, LOOK & SAVE! 

For Lowest Prices Call [800] 732-0304 



PRINTERS 

OKIDATA 

ML82A. 10" Para. & Ser , $ 299 

ML83A. 15" Para. & Ser , 549 

ML92P. 160cps 375 

ML92 IBM Graphics Comp 385 

ML92S,160cps 465 

ML92AppleMac.2KGraphics 475 

ML93P. 160 cps 599 

ML93IBMGraphicsComp 629 

ML93S. 160 cps 769 

ML84P.200cps 679 

ML84S,200cps 779 

RITEMAN 

Riteman Plus 120 cps w/Tractor. . . .$ 257 

Riteman BluePlu- 140 cps IBM 342 

Ritemanll 160 cps, 6K mem, w/Trac , 369 
Riteman 15, 160 cps, 15" carr 549 

QUME 

Letterpro20PProp.Spc. EnhPrnt . .$ 449 
Sprint 1140 + . 2K. 40 cps. 

132 col. width 1249 

STAR M1CRONICS 

Gemini 10X. 10", 120cps $ 249 

Gemini 10XPC{IBMCompat.) 259 

Gemini 15X, 15", 120cps 349 

Gemini 15XPC{IBMCompat.) 369 

Delta 10, 10", 160cps 365 

Delta 10 PC 359 

Powertype, 18 cps Par & Ser 349 

C. ITOH 

Prowriter8510AP. 120cps $ 309 

Prowriter8510BC2, 120 cps 399 

Prowriter 8510 SP, 180 cps 399 

8510 BPI (IBM Compatible) 335 

Prowriter I1 1550 P, 15" 120 cps 515 

Prowriter II 1550BCD. 15" 120cps . . 549 

1 550 BP (IBM Compatible) 529 

1550 SP. 180cps 549 

StarwriterFlO-40PU.40cps 929 

Starwriter A10, 18 cps 499 

PrintmasterF10-55PU.55cps 1069 

SWEET P 

Six Shooter 600 $ 799 

BROTHER 

HR25 $ 669 

DYNAX 

DX15 By Brother. SameasHR15 ...$ 379 

JUKI 

6100. L.0. 18 cps w/proportional spc.S 399 
6300 Call 

TOSHIBA 

P1351 Dot Matrix, 192 cps, letter quality 
100 cps, does graphics. 3 in 1 printer $1229 
P1340 same as above but 10" carr. . . 719 

PANASONIC 

1091 w/Tractor, 120 cps, 1yr. war. ..$ 289 

SOFTWARE 

LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORP. 

Lotus 1-2-3 $ 295 

Symphony 437 

ASHTON TATE 

DBase II $ 329 

DBase III 419 

MICROPRO INTERNATIONAL 

ProPak<WS/MM/SS/Star Index) $ 399 

Option Pak (M/M. C/S, S/l) 199 

MICROSOFT 

Softcard (CP/M) $ 239 

Microsoft Word 315 

w Premium Softcard for HE 319 

. Softcard for II & II + .A.-... 229 



PRINTER 
ACCESSORIES 

ORANGE MICRO 

Grappler + $ 115 

Buffered Grappler + , 16K exp. 64K . 165 
Mr. Chips for PC & XT, Par. Ser. Clock & 
CaL. 64K Realworld l/F, BSR line l/F . 389 
TOSHIBA 

BiDirectional Tractor $ 149 

Font Disk for Down loading P1351 . . 48 

MICROTEK 

Dumpling GX (same as Grappler +) $ 75 

Dumpling GX w/16K buffer 149 

Dumpling GX w/32K buffer 165 

Additional Buffering 16K 16 

FOURTH DIMENSION 

Par. Card & Cable for Apple $ 45 

OKIDATA 

Plug and Play for IBM $ 49 

Okigraph I for 82A 49 

Okigraph I for83A 49 

Tractor for82A & 92 49 

CABLES 

IBM PC to Parallel Printer $ 18 

Serial Cable. . 18 



DISPLAY MONITORS 

NEC 

JB 1201, 80 col., 20MHz $ 129 

JB 1205(A) 12" Amber, 20MHz ..... 135 
JC 1215 Color Compositw/audio . . 245 
JC 1216 RGB, Hi-Res/IBM 640x300 . . 365 

AMDEK 

V300G $ 129 

V300A 139 

V310AforlBMPC 1 

Color I + . Composite 13" 279 

Color II + , Hi-Res. 137IBM 

Color300 249 

Color600 429 

Color710 585 

TAXAN 

IBM Green Monochrome #121 $ 139 

IBM Amber Monochrome #122 145 

RGBIBMw/Cable#420 419 

RGB Super Hi-Res. #415 393 

RGB/Comp.Med.Res.#210 259 

PRINCETON GRAPHICS 

HX-12 for use with IBM PC $ 455 

Max12AmberforlBM 179 

SR 12 Super Hi-Res 595 




MID-WINTER SPECIALS! ! 


C.ITOH 8510AP 


LOTUS DEV. 


$309 


1-2-3 S295 


BIZCOMP 


Symphony S437 


Intelli Modem ST 


IBM MONO CARD 


100% Comp. 


W/Printer Port 


w/Smart Com. II & 


S245 


Crosstalk XVI 


MICRO-SCI A.5C 


S369 


Drive w/cable for lie 


QUME LETTERPRO 20 


S189 


1448 


TEAC 55B 


AST RESEARCH 


S129 


Sixpak + w/64K 


P6S HX12 


S249 


S455 



IBM PC ACCESSORIES 




IBM 

IBM Mono Card w/Printer Port $ 245 

IBM Mono Monitor 265 

IBMDos2.1 59 

IBMDos3.0 . 69 

IBM Tech Ref. for PC 85 

PARADISE 

Modular GraphicsCard $ 279 

ModuleA - 85 

Module B 189 

PC PEACOCK 

Color Graphics Card w/Par. Printer Port. 
Compat.w/AII IBM Software. 2 yr. war. $ 215 

AST RESEARCH 

Six Pak + w/64K $ 249 

Mega Plus II 265 



64K MEMORY UPGRADE 

64K (9 chips) 150 ns, lyr.war $ 29 

QUADRAM 

Quad Colon Board $ 199 

VUTEK 

Vutek - CPS Board, RGB & Composite 
w/Par. & Ser. Ports, 2 Yr. War $ 239 

STB 

Graphics + II $ 359 

TECHMAR 

Graphics Master $ 459 

PERSYST BOARD 

Bob Hi-Res Display Adp $ 459 

KEYTRONICS 

KB5151 $ 185 



APPLE & FRANKLIN ACCESSORIES 



ACCESSORIES 

System Saver $ 69 

Fan for Applell & IIEw/surge 37 

APPLE 

Super Serial Card $ 139 



MICROMAX 

Viewmax 128K extended 80 col. card 

forAppleHE $ 129 

80col. card for Apple II & II + 139 



4fc 



PERSONAL SYSTEMS' 

APPLE 

Apple ME Starter System inch Apple HE, Tilt 
Monitor, 1 Drive w/contoller, 80 col. 

card Gall 

Apple lie Lightweight Portable 999 

IBM 

IBM PC Bare w/cont. & keyboard ... $1 1 50 

IBM PC64K, 1 Drive 1325 

IBM PC 64K, 2 Drives 1499 

IBM PC.2Drivesw/256K 1599 

IBM XT. 128K, 10Meg..360KDr 3495 

IBM AT Base Call 

IBM AT Enhanced Call 

Call About All "AT" Systems 

KAYPRO 

Kayproll $1279 

Kaypro4 1745 

Kaypro 10 2395 

SANYO 

MBC 550-2 W/1320K Drive &sftwr. . $ 895 
MBC 555-2 w/2 320K Drives & 

more software 1075 

Serial Port for Sanyo 79 

TAVA 

TAVA PC1 Par. & 1 Ser. Ports. 128K.2-320K 
Drives. Color Card & Monitor . .... .$1499 

TAVA XT same as above including 10 meg. 
Hard Disk Drive $2495 

COMPAQ 

256K. w/2 - 320K Drives $2150 

DISK DRIVES 

TANDON 

TM100-2forlBMPC $ 145 

TM65-2. Vi Height. 320K 189 

ALPHA OMEGA 

10 Meg HD for IBM & Comp. w/Cont. Card 
13 Month Warranty $ 845 

TEAC 

55B Double Sided 360K . . . .$ 129 2 for 249 
Quad Density 189 

EPSON 

SD521 Dbl/DblforlBM $ 149 

Drives For Apple & Franklin 
RANA SYSTEMS 

Elite I $ 199 

Elite II 339 

Elite III 399 

Controller add 85 

MICRO-SCI 

A-2 $179 

A.5C for He w/cable 189 

A.5 V* height for HE 209 

Controller Add 70 

MODEMS 

ANCHOR 

Mark XII $ 225 

HAYES MICRO 

300 Baud Smart Modem $ 205 

1200 Baud Smart Modem 459 

1200 B for IBM PC 379 

Micro Modem HE 259 

Chronograph 189 



GIVE US A CHANCE TO BEAT THE 

COMPETITION'S ADVERTISED PRICE. 

IF YOU SEE IT ADVERTISED FOR LESS, CALL 

COMPUTER CONNECTION FIRST FOR LOWEST QUOTE! 



MAIL ORDER: 

1 2841 S. Hawthorne Blvd., No. 585 
Hawthorne, California 90250 



NO SURCHARGE FOR CREDIT CARDS 



We accept VISA, MasterCard, 
COD (w deposit), Certified 
Checks or Wire Transfers. 
Minimum Shipping Charge S4.00. 
Some items subject to back order. 
California Res. add S%% Sales 
Tax. Prices subject to change 
without notice. 



ORDER LINE 
(800) 732-0304 

(Our,stde Cal.f omia) 
[213] 514-9019 

|lnsicte California] 

Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

CUSTOMER SERVICE: 
[213] 514-9019 
Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 



Inquiry 64 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 435 



Announcing 4 New Collector Edition 

BYTE COVERS 



The 4 Byte covers shown below are the newest additions to the Collector Edition 
Byte Cover series. Each full color print is 11" X H", including a I! /' border, and is 
part of an edition strictly limited to 1.000 prints. Each print is a faithful reproduction 
of the original Byte painting, printed on museum quality acid free paper, and is 
personally inspected, signed and numbered by the artist, Robert Tinney. A Certificate of 
Authenticity accompanies each print. 



Collector Edition Prints are carefully packaged flat to avoid bending, and are 
shipped first class within one week of receipt of order. The price of each print is 
$30. All -i prints are available for only $100. 

Other Collector Edition Byte Covers are also available from Robert Tinney 
Graphics, For a color brochure, or to order one or more of the prints shown, 
please check the appropriate box in the coupon below. 





#2S Computers and the Handicapped $30 




#26 



Graduation Memories 



$30 




Please send me the following Prints ( $30) All 4 only $100. □ I have enclosed check or money order. 

QTY. TITLE & PRINT NO. AMOUNT □ Visa □ MasterCard 

$ Card No. 

$ Exp. Date: 

$ SHIP MY PRINTS (OR BROCHURE) TO: 

postage & handling $3.00 (Overseas $8,00) $ Name: 

Address: 

City: 

State: Zip. 



TOTAL t 

"2 Please send me your color brochure. 



Mail this coupon to: 

robert tinney graphics 

1864 N. Pamela Drive 
Baton Rouge, LA 
70815 



436 BYTE ' FEBRUARY 1985 





COMPUTER DISCOUNT PRODUv 

Stocking HUGE Inventories of APPLE & IBM Products SINCE- 
. * GUARANTEED Fair Pricing Is Our Policy * 



FREE 
SHIPPING!! 

♦That's Right -WE PAY 
To Ship YOUR Purchase 

See Details Below 



PRE BOOTS Apple Writer 
Apple Writer lor Ultraterm 
Vi&caic 

Vacate with Memory Expansion 
V scale lor Ultraterm 



y tm 



14.99 
23.99 
39.99 
66.99 
54,99 



Ultraterm 244.99 



Enhancer II 

Function Strip 

Hardswitch 

MicramodemChip 

PSIO 

Softswitch 

Ultraplan 

V'deoterm w/Softswitch & Inverse 



31,99 | 

14.91 

24.99 I 
169.99 

25.99 
129.99 
219.99 I 



ACCESSORIES & PERIPHERAL! 



I MONITORS Amdek 3Q0A-Ap 
Amdek310A-lBM 
Princeton HX-12 RGB-IBM 
Princeton Max- 12 Amber -IBM 
Quadram Quadcrrome RGB- IBM 
Taxan 420 RGB- Ap.- IBM 
Taxan 12" Amber- IBM 
Taxan 12" Amber 20mhz-Ap 

Other Monitors & Printers - SCALL 



159.99 


PRINTERS C-ITOH8510 


179.99 


Epson FX60 


459.99 


Okidata 92P w/Pfug n Play-IBM 


189.99 


DRIVES:'/?Heighl-Ap 


529.99 


Micro SciA-2-Ap 


439.99 


Teac J4 Height-IBM 


169.99 


RIBBONS Brother 


139.99 


MX&FX80 




MX&FX100 


ALL 


OKl82.83.92 93&Gemm- 



379.99 
429.99 

SCALL 



179.99 

SCALL 

4.99 

7.99 

2.99 



III MicroPro 



COMMUNICATIONS 



ADVENTURE & GAMES 





FOR APPLE & IBM 




Infostar 
Mailmerge 
Spellstar 
Wordstar 
Wordstar Pro 
Pro Options Pack 


259.99 
139.99 
139.99 
239.99 
349.99 
181.99 




CHARTSTAR-AEW 




Business Graphics Package 
For IBM 319.99 



^1 CONNECT! 



DISKETTES & STORAGE 





10 


100 




Dysan5*A*S&DD 


29.99 


279.99 




DysanS'A'DSTO 


38.99 


369.99 




Maxell 5'A'SSrTJD 


24.99 


229.99 




Maxell 5-A' DSHD 


34.99 


329.99 




Memorex3fc"SS/DD 


41.99 


399.99 




Memofex5'/j*SS/DO 


19.99 


189.99 




Memorex5'/i"DS/DD 


26.99 


259.99 




Fi.p n File wlocktray Holds S-5%* 




17.99 


Flip n File w/Locktray Holds 50-5 'V 




27.99 


Library Case (Assorted Colors) 




1.99 


Media Mate Holds 50-5% 


Diskettes 




12.99 


Media Mate Holds 30-3'/? 


Diskettes 




11.99 


Printer Stand-Large (Plex 


glass) 




29.99 | 


Prmier Stand-Small (Plexiglass) 




24.99 



HARDWARE 


Ap 


ALS Z-Engme (Replaces 2-Card) 


159.99 


A; 


DAN PAYMAR Lower Case 1 , Rev 1 -6 


25.99 


Ap 


Lower Case 2, Rev 7 


19.99 


Ap 


JOYSTICK Kraft or TG 


39.99 


Ap 


MICROSOFT Softcard 


229.99 


A: 


Ram Card 


74.99 


Ap 


ORANGE MICRO Grappler- 


114.99 


Ap 


Buflerboard 


119.99 


A: 


Buffered Grappier 


179.99 


Ar 


TITAN Accelerator lie 


449.99 


A: 


Neptune 64K 


199.99 


Ap 


Saturn 64K Ram 


279.99 


IBM 


AT ORus 


SCALL 


m 


Mega Pius 
Six Pack Plus 


289.99 


m 


279.99 


m 


JOYSTICK Kraft or TG 


44.99 


BV 


PLANTRONICS Color Plus Board 


375.99 


BM 


TITAN 64K Board 


499.99 


Ap.'lBM 


KRAFT Paddles 


31.99 


Ap/IBM 


TG Paddles 


27.99 



KENSINGTON 

System Saver-AP 65.00 

PC Saver-IBM 29.99 



I ascii express-ad 
I crosstalk-IBM 

| HAYES MODEMS 300 Baud Smartmodem 

1 200 Baud Smartmodem 

12006-IBM 

Micromodem tie 
I SOFTERM2-Ap 
| NOVATION MODEMS J Cat 

103 Smart Cat 

103/212 Auto Cal 

Cat 

Applecat II 300 Baud 

Appiecai Upgrade to 1 200 Baud 

Expansion Module 



109.99 

13 

20 

479.99 

409.99 

239.99 

149.99 

109.99 



135. 
249.99 
309.99 
29.99 



© 



TELMERGE-/B/W 119.99 

New Telecommunications 

P / Program From MicroPro 



EDUCATIONAL 



BASIC SKILLS 

Ap DLM School Versions Available SCALL 

Ap Alien Addition Alligator Mix ea22.99 

Ap Demolition Division-Dragon Mix ea22.99 

Ap Minus Mission Multiplication ea22.99 

Ap Spelling Wn Verb Viper ea31.99 

Ap Word invasion-Word Radar ea31.99 

Ap LEARNING COMPANY Juggles Rainbow 21.99 

Ap Gertrudes Puzzle/Secret ea29.99 

Ap Magic Spell/Bumble Plot ea26.99 

Ap Number Stumper 26.99 

Ap Rocky's Boots 34.99 

Ap PEACHTREE Algebra l-lll ea31.99 

Ap Counting Bee 23.99 

Ap Decimals/Fractions 3 ea33.99 

IBM LEARNING COMPANY Addition Magician 26.99 

IBM Mage Spells 27.99 

IBM PEACHTREE Algebra I 34.99 

Ap/'IBM SPINNAKER Alphabet Zoo 21.99 

AplBM Delta Drawing 32.99 

Ap/iBM Facemakerfraction Fever ea23.99 

AplBM Hey Diddle' Kmdercomp ea21.99 

Ap IBM Snooper Troops i-H ea29.99 

Ap/IBM Story Machine 23,99 

Ap/IBM LEARNING COMPANY Reader Rabbit 26.99 

Ap/IBM Moptown Hotel/Parade ea26.99 

Ap/IBM Word Spinner 26.99 

ADVANCED SKILLS 

Ap MASTERTYPE 31.99 

Ap MICROSOFT Typing Tutor II 19.99 

Ap PEACHTREE PSAT or SAT ea33.99 

IBM CAi Masters ea3t.99 

! BM Subjects ea16.99 

IBM MASTERTYPE 34.99 

Muppet Learning Keys- NEW 59.99 



Ap 
Ap 
Ap 
Ap 
■<: 
Ap 
.-;: 
Ap 
Ap 
Ap 
': 

IBM 

IBM 

IBM 

AplBM 

Ap/IBM 

Ap/IBM 

AplBM 

AolBM 



BRODERBUND Gumball 

Choplifter, Drol 
MICROLAB Crises Mountain/Dmo Ei 
ODESTA Chess 
SIE RRA ON-LINE Frogger 
SIR TECH Knight of Diamonds 

Legacy o' Liylgamyn 

Wizardry 

Wiziprint 
SUBLOGIC Flight Simulator II 
ULTIMA III 

BRODERBUND Serpentine 
MICROSOFT Flight Simulator II 
SIERRA ON-LINE Crossfire 
SIR-TECH Wizardry 
BRODERBUND Loderunner 

Apple Panic 
MICROLAB Miner 20-49er 
SIERRA ON-LINE Ultima II 
SUBLOGIC Night Mission Pmbail 



21.99 1 
ea24,99 I 
ea27.99 I 
| 
21.99 I 
27.99 I 
31.99 1 
37.99 I 
19.99 1 
37.99 I 
39.99 I 
26.99 1 
39.99 I 
26.99 I 
44.99 I 
24.991 
22.99| 
27.9! 
36.99 1 
32.99 I 



TRILLIUM & WINDHAM CLASSICS 

NEW Text Adventure Games 

by Famous Authors 

-SCALL- 



I FOR IBM 




Microfazer (All Configurations) 
Quad512+64K 
OuadboardioriiNoK 
Quadboard j or M 64K 
Ouadcolor I 
Quadcoior i Upgrade 


149.99 
229.99 
219.99 
269.99 
205.99 
209.99 


MEMORY CHIPS 




Top Quality for , 
Best Performance SCALL i 



inFocorrx 

FOR APPLE & IBM 



I CUTTHROATS Underwater Treasure Hunt' - NEW 27.99 I 

DEADLINE Detective Case and YOU'RE IT 34.99 I 

I ENCHANTER Begmnmg-Magician Mission 27.99 [ 

INFIDEL Enter The Lost Pyramid 31.99 I 

PLANETFALL Investigate a Wild New World 27.99 I 

SEASTALKER Junior Level Rescue Mission 27.99 I 

SORCERER Mystic Clues & Magic Encounters 31 .99 ( 

STARCROSS Sci-Fi Adventure. 21 88 AD 34.99 I 





APPLICATIONS 




I WITNESS Classic Murder Mystery 
■ ZORK I All-Time Most Popular 


27.99 
27.99 




SOFTWARE 




1 ZORK ll-lll Advanced Levels 

1 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 


31.99 

27.99 










FOR THE HOME 

BRODERB JND Bar* Streel Writer 


44 99 1 




Suspect 34.99 




: .[ 




49.99 I 








i^ 




39.99 § 








Ap 


Home Accountant 
Home Accountant (Mac) 


44.99 ■ 




UTILITIES & 




Ap 


SIERRA ON-LINE Homeword 
MONOGRAM Dollars & Sense 
BRODERBUND Bank Street Writer 


69.99 ■ 
59.99 




ENHANCEMENTS 




BM 








IBM 


CONTINENTAL Home Accountanl 


84.99 


Ap 


BEAGLE Apple Mechanic. Beagle Bag 


ea19.99 


IBM 


Tax Advantage 


49.99 


Ap 


Beagle Basic. Double Take 

Dos Bos/Silicon Salad 


ea23.99 


IBM 


MONOGRAM Dollars & Sense 


109.99 


Ap 


ea17.99 




FOR THE BUSINESS 




Ap 
Ap 


Fat Cat 

GPLE 


26.99 
3199 


ftp 


BPMGLAP.AR.PAY) 


ea275.99 


a D 


Pronto Dos/Frame Up'Unlity City 


ea19.99 


Ap 


CONTINENTAL FCM-First Oass Mail 


59.99 




EASTSIDE Wildcard II 


111.99 


H 


KENSINGTON Format I! 


109.99 


Ap 


FINGERPRINT Epson Enhancement 


44.99 


Ac 


PES Report 


79.99 


Ap 


KOALA Touch Pad 


85.99 


Aj 


file. Graph. Write 


eaS9.99 


' 


MOCKINGBOARD - Speech Chips SCALL 


109.99 


•': 


SENSIBLE SPELLER 


79.99 




THUNDERCLXK 


99.99 


Ap 


SIERRA ON-LINE Screenwriter II 


81.99 


iBM 


KOALA Speed Key 


79.99 


IBM 


ASHTONTATEdBASEN 


299.99 


iBM 


Speed Key System 


159.99 


IBM 


dBASEtll 


474,99 


IBM 


Touch Pad 


95.99 


BM 


Encyclopedia 


59.99 


IBM 


Touch Pad PCjr 


8599 


BM 


Frame Work 


474.99 


IBM 


NORTON UTILITIES 


55J9 


BM 


Friday 


184.99 


IBM 


SIDEWAYS 


44.99 


BM 


CONTINENTAL FCM-First Class Mail 


71.99 


Ap.'lBM 


CENTRAL POINT Copy II +'PC 


25.99 


BM 
BM 


Ultratile 
LIFETREE Volkswnter Deluxe 


119.99 
219.99 




GRAPHICS SOFTWARE 




BM 

BM 


LOTUS Symphony 
MULTIMATE 


499.99 
379.99 


Ap 
Ap 


BEAGLE Typefaces 
Graphics - NEW 


15.99 
44.99 


BM 


PFS Report 


89.99 


Ap 


Alpha Plot 


25.99 


BM 


file. Graph, Wnte 


ea99.99 


Ap 


Triple Dump -A/By 


31.99 




MICRO COOKBOOK 




Ap 


Flex Text 


19.99 




ForAppte&IBM Q1 QQ 
includes Recipes J 1 •%/*? 




Ap 
Ap 
Ap 


BRODERBUND Pnnt Shop 
PENGUIN Complete Graphics System 
Graphics Magician 


39.99 
44.99 
37.99 



MAIL AND 
PHONE ORDERS 

Inquiries Welcome! 
(408) 985-0400 

MAIL, PHONE, WILL-CALL 
SERVICE FROM 8AM (pst) 



COMPUTER DISCOUNT PRODUCTS 

860 So. Winchester Bl.. San Jose, CA 95128 

- CALL (408) 985-0400 - 

Retail Showrooms In California 
San Jose • San Mateo • San Francisco 



■ No Charge For Credit Cards 

• Prices Subject To Change 

• Software Sales Are Final 

*Most Items Shipped Vis 
2-Day Service - NO CHARGE 
Printers & Monitors Shipped 
Standard Service - NO CHARGE 



VISA 




FORTRON CORPORATION Power Supply Professional 
3797 YALE WAY, FREMONT, CA 94538 ORDER TOLL FREE [800] 821-9771 



INFORMATION & CALIF. RES. [415] 490-8171 



FC 135-40 Features: 



•Full Replacement 
to your regular IBM* PC 
65 W. Power Supply 

•4 Disk Drives Connectors 

•Built-in High Air Flow 
High Quality Cooling Fan 

• (§) File #E82453 

•Schematics included 

•One year Warranty 

•+5V/15A, + 12V/4.2-8.5A 
(peak) 

+ 12V/1A, -5V/1A, (max. 
outputs) 



Quality That You Can Trust 

140 W.(max) Power Switcher 

#FC 135-40 




IDEAL FOR: 
•Upgrade IBM® PC 
•OEM Manufacturer 
•Do it yourself an IBM® 
PCXT Compatible 



Please do not confuse this high quality 
product with the cheap imported units 
sold by others because of same outlook. 



only *(0 

175.°° 

[Assembled S. Fully Tested in USA] 



Dealers/OEMs 
are Invited 



For "Build Your Own Computer" and OEM's Convenience, we also carry: 



Q 

a; 

O 

o 

I 

Q 
Q 

o 



FC 427 Keyboard 

•For IBM ' PC or its compatible products 
•20 Million Time /inn oo 

Lrie Cycle IU». 

•Light on Num and 

Caps Lock Keys 






FC 630A-2 Cabinet 

•IBM identical 

•Use FORTRON FC 135-40 power supply 

•7 & 8 slots rear QQ OO 

panels, good ior 33- 

0.75" or 1" apart 

slot connectors. 



HSC 130-40 130 Watt Switching Power Supply 

•Good For Faraday, DTC Mega- ^^a^a^al^te.^ I03i 

board, Colby Computer and Other 

Compatible Level CPU boards 
•Backside On-Off Switch 
•Use Cabinet FC-630 




FC-330 Hard Disk Controller 

•Up to 2 Hard Disk OCQ OO 

Drives dtt3 ' 

•Fully Buffered I/O 
Bus 

•Built-in ECC 

•Accepts 5 to 
20 MB Hard Disk 



FC-630 Cabinet 



Monochrome/Graphic/Printer Card CT-6040 



•On-off switch to be on back side 
•Use FORTRON HSC -130-40 power 
supply OO Oi 

•Good for Faraday 
and other compat- 
ible level CPU 
boards. 



99. 



•80x25 Text Mode (Default) 

•720x348 Graphic Mode 

•Can Run Lotus 1-2-3 

•64K Graphic Display Memory 

•18 KHz Monitor and Printer Interface 



OO 




FC-230 Floppy Disk 
Controller 

FDD 109.°° 



•Drives 4 ) 
•IBM fully 
compatibl 



FC-530 Monochrome Card 
159.°° 






•8 x 25 Screen 
•9 X 14 Character Box 
•7x9 Character 
•TTL Level of 
output 




FC-730 Multifunction Card, 
Expandable to 384K 

209.°° 

(64K on Card) 
I ■ 




FC 830 512K RAM Card 



•From 64 to 384K 
•1 RS-232C, 1 Cen- 
tronics Printer 
Ports 



•From 64K to 512K 
•Boundary and 
Total Memory 



189. 00 

(64K on Board) 



FC-930 RS232/Parallel 
Printer Port Card 



Fully IBM 
Compatible 



99.° 




FC-940 RS232C/Clock 
Calendar Card 



•One RS-232C Port, 
One Clock 
Calendar, 
Battery Back-up 



Color/Graphic/Printer Card CT-6020 

•RGB Color Port and Parallel 

Port For Printer 
•Light Pen Interface 
•Graphic Mode: 

320 Dots x 200 Lines Color 

640 Dots x 200 Lines B/W 
•Text Mode: 

40 Columns x 25 Rows Color / B/W D O 

80 Columns x 25 Rows Color / B/W 




99: 



OO 




Hard Disk Drives 769.°° 

(with cable & controller) (10 MB) 

Half Height, Top Brands, 10-32 MB Available 



64K DRAM 

32.°°/9 pes. 

2764 EPROM 

5. 25 /pcs. 



8237A-5 

8284A 

8284C 

MC1489 

74LS245 



12.50 
3.90 
1.50 
0.29 
0.65 



Cable For IBM PC/AT 89.°° 

RS-232 (D Type 9 Pin to D Type 25 Pin) 



IBM PC/XT ADD-ON CARDS 



438 BYTE • FEBRUARY I985 



Inquiry 369 for Dealers. Inquiry 370 for End-Users. 



Contact us for other low prices on hardware and software. 

Next Day Air Extra 



ALL PRICES INCLUDE 
FREE SHIPPING IN USA. 

These prices current as off December 21 , 1 984. Call for latest prices. 




TEAC 

Ss B. Half Heigh! H DO 



£ $129 



PANASONIC 

HSS| 1 Kilt Hcighl |)vtll> 



$109 




TAPE BACKUP SYSTEM 



• HjII llt'iiihi •10.35 Mqj 

• ii>\\ I'mu-r Formatted Capacil 

• I m Ftopp} • l sed In Compaq 
( ootroller ( aril De&kpru 



$595 



Another PCs Limited Exclusive! 

FREE UP AN EXTRA SLOT! 

Our specially-designed combined 

Floppy/Hard Disk Controller 

gives you 4 system expansion slots 

open for additional boards! 

IBM PC 
256K 

One 360K 
Drive 
Internal HD 



\ 


( 1 



&410C F, °ppy 

^AlT9 lOMEGInl 



64KRAM 



S©t OT 9 ChipS, 200 or 150 Vinan (inch 

■pj Quannno ut 

^^k ^a^^ ^pM 

$25 $w 



L 



\ 



IBM PC $1595 



256K 1 DS. DO Drive 



10, 10, 33, and 41 Megabyte Infernal Hard DUk. 



with Hard Disk b\ 

• • • Microscience 

• • International 

1 • • Corporation 




1 MEG INTERNAL HARD DISK SYSTEM 

Our 10 megabyte Hard Disk System uses i sutc-of-tht-art Half-Ht- ight Urn- 

tower Hard Disk, therein eliminating overheating problems typically associ- 
ated with Hard Drives The swern uses DON 1 I or 5 without any modifica- 
tions, is Plug Compatible with the IBM XT and gives vou the ability to hooi 
djrecth from the hard disk The system tomes complete and ready to install 
with the low power Hard Disk, ( ontroller. Cables Manual Software, and 



with Hard Disk by 

Shuqart 



One year warranty. 



Mounting Hardware 




sjntr hard drnr as usrd In 
(,'uhii and kamerman Lat*s 



$629 



One year warranty. 



nut hard dnse in used hv 
Masnard Electronics 



10, 20, 33, and 42 MEG INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL HARD DISK SYSTEMS 



Exirmall) mounted v\nh independent power suppli and tan 

Fully DOS 1 I or 3 compatible Boots from Hard Disk 

*20. Jj and 42 Meg 

internal disks incfode 

extender power supnb One year warranty 





10 MEG 


20 MEG 


33 MEG 


il MM, 


Internal 


$619 


$995 


! $1395 


$1595 


External 


$819 


$1095 


$1495 


$1695 



f^ 




COMPAQ. 



256K, 1/360K drive, 
10 Meg Internal 



Functional equivalent 
to a Compaq Plus. 

$1995 



Now using JVi shock-mounted Winchester drives. 

The same as used in the Compaq Plus. 

Also available with I half-height drives— $3195. 



CDC 9409-$! 59 HARDWARE ASSIST 



\st sivPak Plus w/»8-»K I$84 

\s I siO'jk Plus w/64K *2Sy 

P( Nel Blossom » WSL UM 

Her*ulcs<olor<ard ITS 

VST HlMBjtffc Plus Parallel 'Clock * W\ 

Hercules Graphics Card » I Parallel tS4f 

Paradise Modular Graphics Card S »')5 

Paradise Module A Parallel Pori 1 W 

Paradise Module Bfe*-2S(iK,'( lock li(l') 



Persysi Monochrome ( ard w /Parallel \\~S 

PGS HX- 12 i-*'9 

PGS MAX12 11-9 

Epson CALL 

Juki 6100 *4!9 

Okldau92'93'B4 1399/16 W ftTW 

TtiH I71J 

Bayu Jmutmim 1200 i«89 

Haves smartmodem I20H 1399 



Sidekick -$35 
Non-Copy Protected Sidekick — $59 

Copy II PC $2* 

Copy* rite CALL 

Disk Explorer CALL 

Zero Disk CALL 

Prokcy 3.0 $89 

Sideways $39 

Thinktank S1I9 

Harvard Project Manager $259 



SOFTWARE 

dBase III— $375 
Norton Utilities- .S8SL -$59 
Borland Gift Pack- $69 

Wordstar 2000 $299 

Wordstar 2000 * $359 



Turbo Pascal — $35 
Turbo Toolbox — $35 

Multimate $269 

PFS/Graph $89 

PFS/Plan $89 

PFS/Proof $69 

PFS/Write $89 

PFS/Access $63 

PFS/File $89 

PFS/Report $79 



PC'S LIMITED 



Micros* irncc International Corporation, Irwin 
Magnetic*. TEAC. Panasonic. Shugarl. Oubf* 
IBM. K Jim r nun lab*, and May nard Electronics 
are trademarks of their respective companies. 



ORDERS ONLY, CALL 1-800-IBM-5150 

7801 N. Lamar, #E-200, Austin, Texas 78752 
All ether inquiries, call (512) 452-0323 



So surcharge on VISA or MasterCard 

) mOu y <>n mmUcm lapna 



Inquiry 248 



FEBRUARY 1985 • BYTE 439 



Now, the lowest 
prices ever on 

3M Scotch' 

7 DISKETTES 



I5VSSDD 




$153 

I QTY. 20 5VDSDD 

5 V SSDD-96TPI -» $2.29 ea. 514" DSDD-96TPI -» $2.85 ea 
SOFT SECTOR ONLY! MINIMUM ORDER: 20 DISKETTES 

These are factory-fresh 3M diskettes packed in boxes of 1 with 
Tyvek sleeves, reinforced hubs, identification labels and write- 
protect tabs, -,_ __ 

3.5" MICRO-DISKETTES— SS-135 TPI -* $2.89 ea 
LIFETIME WARRANTY ON ALL 3M SCOTCH DISKETTES! 

for orders only: information & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS; 8AM-5PM Central Time. Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD', Inc. 

Suite 4806 • 30 East Huron Street • Chicago. Minos 60611 



DISK 



UlOrV Authorized Distributor 

information Processing 

WORLD! ~ 



FANTASTIC LOW PRICES ON 

-, BASF ^ 

5) QUALIMETRIC ^ 
DISKETTES! 



n4ii„„$i5r 
Qty 20 DSDD I Qty. 20 

PACKED IN PLASTIC LIBRARY CASES! 

BASF QUALIMETRIC DISKETTES have a LIFETIME WAR- 
RANTY and are packed tn PLASTIC LIBRARY CASES with Tyvek 
sleeves, reinforced hubs, user identification labels and write- 
protect tabs. 

SOFT SECTOR ONLY! MINIMUM ORDER: 20 DISKETTES 
BASF 3.5" MICRO-FLOPPIES BASF 5VHIGH DENSITY 

FORIBMPCAT 
SSDD-135 TPI ^$3.02ea. DSDD-HD — $4.72ea 

FOR ORDERS ONLY: INFORMATION & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time, Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 



II I ^l K Authorized Reseller 

LMUIA Information Processing ■ RASF 

WORLD! 



Incredible value! 

Nashua. 
Diskettes 



LIFETIME WARRANTY! 



$105 

I Qty. 50 



ea. 

5V 4 SSDD 
Qty 50 5 1 /4"DSDD I Qty. 50 



$115 ea 



These are poly-bagged diskettes packaged with Tyvek sleeves, 
reinforced hubs, user tdentification labels and write-protect tabs. 

NASHUA Corporation is a halt-billion dollar corporation and a 
recognized leader in magnetic media. 

SOFT SECTOR ONLY! Sold in multiples of 50 only! 

for orders only: information & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time, Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 

Suite 4806*30 East Huron Street • Chicago, Minos 60611 



DISK 
WORLD! 



NASHUA 
Authorized Distributor MAGNETIC 
MEDIA 



Save 20% to 60% 
Or More 



On all your 
OFFICE & COMPUTER SUPPLIES! 

Now, you can enjoy DISK WORLD! savings on more than 
21.000 office and computer supply products! You name it. we got 
it. . .at tremendous savings. 

Everything from Scotch '" Tape to Post-It Notes " to paper clips 
and rubber bands ...and thousands of computer products as well! 

Our catalog is huge, more than 700 pages, listing more than 
21.000 items. 

We have to charge for it: $10.00 to be exact. 

But we include a $50.00 worth of discount coupons that you 
can use on future orders. 

Now. it's DISK WORLD! for every office or computer supply 
need . .and always at tremendous savings! 

This offer supercedes all prior catalog offers. 

Not responsible for typographical errors. 

FOR ORDERS ONLY: INFORMATION & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS. 8AM-5PM Central Time. Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PROOUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 

^nitp 4fi0fi • 1(1 Fast Huron Street » Chicaao Minos 60611 



DISK WORLD! 

Ordering & Shipping 
Instructions 



Shipping: 5V<i" & 3.5" DISKETTES— Add $3.00 per each 100 or 
fewer diskettes. Other Items: Add shipping charges as shown in 
addition to other shipping charges. Payment: VISA and MASTER- 
CARD accepted. COD Orders: Add additional $3.00 Special Han- 
dling charge. APO, FPO, AK, HI I PR Orders: Include shipping 
charges as shown and additional 2% of total order amount to 
cover PAL and insurance. Taxes: I" nois residents only, add 8% 
sales tax. 

Prices subject to change without notice. 
This ad supercedes all other ads. 

Not responsible for typographical errors 
MINIMUM TOTAL ORDER: $35.00 

FOR ORDERS ONLY: INFORMATION & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time 

Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 

Suite 4806 • 30 East Huron Street* Chicago. Illinos 60611 



DISK 
WORLD! 



DISK 
WORLD! 



ATHANA 

DISKETTES 
The great unknown! 



QQO — $-|09 

^^ Qty. 50 5W0SDO _J Qty 50 

You've used these diskettes hundreds of 
times... as copy-protected originals on some of 
the most popular software packages. They're 
packed in poly-bags of 25 with Tyvek sleeves, 
reinforced hubs, user identification labels and 
write-protect tabs. 

LIFETIME WARRANTY! 

SOFT SECTOR ONLY! Sold in multiples 

of 50 only. 

FOR ORDERS ONLY: INFORMATION & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time. Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 

Suite 4806 • 30 East Huron Street • Chicago. Illinos 60611 



DISK ATHANA 

Authorized Distributor MAGNETIC 

WORLD! 



DISKETTE 
STORAGE CASES 



AMARAY MEDIA-MATE 50: A REVOLUTION 
^* IN DISKETTE STORAGE 

^P Every once in a while, someone takes the 

MU y simple and makes it elegant' This unit holds 
■k ' 50 5V«" diskettes, has grooves tor easy 

^^ f stacking, inside nipples to keep diskettes 
from slipping and several other features. We 
like if cm 0*; ' $200 

O lU.aU ea Shpnq 
DISKETTE 70 STORAGE: STILL A GREAT BUY. 

^^■Jf Dust-free storage for 70 5V diskettes 
^B^ Six dividers included. An excellent value ._ 

fir 



IES $11-95 Shpn°g° 
p The original flip-up holder for 10 5V*" 
diskettes. Beige or grey only^-j CC 

• 20<t Shpnq 
FOR ORDERS ONLY: INFORMATION & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries: 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time, Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 



> 4806 • 10 Fas' 



re fif]fi11 



DISK 
WORLD! 



PRINTER 
RIBBONS: 



at 

extraordinary 
prices! 

Brand new ribbons, manufactured to Original Equipment 
Manufacturer's specifications, in housings. (Not re-inked or 
spools only.) 

LIFETIME WARRANTY! 

Epson MX-70/80 . . $3.58 ea. + 25C Shpng. 
Epson MX-100 . . $4.95 ea. + 25G Shpng 
Okidata Micro83 . $1.48 ea. + 25c Shpng. 
Okidata Micro84 . $3.66 ea. + 25C Shpng 

FOR ORDERS ONLY: INFORMATION & 

1-800-621-6827 inquiries- 

(In Illinois: 1-312-944-2788) 1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time. Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 

Suite 4806 • 30 East Huron Street • Chicago. Illinos 6061 1 



The value leader in ■ DISK 
Computer supplies II m ..^„ _, 
Andeccssories ■ WORLD! 



PAPER: 
Save 50% or more! 



We buy paper by the TRUCKLOAD from the 
two biggest mills in the country. 

Therefore, we charge a lot less than you've 
been paying! 

For the complete DISK WORLD paper 
catalogs and price lists, call 1-312-944-2788 or 
write us. (Please do not use the "800" line for 
paper catalog requests, unless you are also 
placing an order. 

Don't spend more than you have to for top- 
quality computer printer paper. Call DISK 
WORLD! today. 

INFORMATION & INQUIRIES: 

1-312-944-2788 

HOURS: 8AM-5PM Central Time 

Monday-Friday 

WE WILL BEAT ANY NATIONALLY ADVERTISED PRICE 

ON THE SAME PRODUCTS AND QUANTITIES! 

DISK WORLD!, Inc. 

Suite 4806 • 30 East Huron Street • Chicago, Illinos 60611 



DISK 
WORLD! 



Where paper 
Costs lessl 



440 BYTE* FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 93 



ESTABLISHED 1977 



(ompuPro 



SYSTEM 816 B TWO USER 
SYSTEM 816 10H40 40Mb H.D 
FOR 40Mb H.D OPTION ADD 
TO HAVE 2ND 8" FLPY W/ H D 

BVa" H.D. SUBSYSTEMS 

W CONTROLLER, CP M 808.86 DRIVERS. 
CABLES, CABINET, PAN, P/S, ETC 



$4,899 

$5,995 

$1,900 

$395 



27Mb 



140Mb 



RODIME 

ounmum 

MICROPOLIS 



90mSEC $1,525 
45 mSEC $1,995 
30mSEC $2,425 
30 m SEC $2,995 

30 mSEC $3,695 
30mSEC $4,395 



CPU 286 A&T W 287 MATH CHIP $1 ,496 

CPU 32016 W MMU 6MHz $699 

HUDSON 8087 PIGGY BACK FOR 8086/88 $436 
RAM 22 266K STATIC 88.16 A&T $1,075 

DISK 2 A8.T 8" H D CNTRL SET $559 

FUJITSU 2302B 20Mb 8" ADD-ON H.D. $1,996 



SMC 200 DUAL DRV SMD I F CTRL BD $600 

DGC- 100 CTRL BD./6V«" H.D.. ST 506 I F $326 

lEIectraloqicsl 

QUASI DISK 612K RAM-DISK $736 

QUASI DISK 2Mb $1,736 

QUASI DISK 4Mb $3,230 

BATTERY BACK UP 8169 

[SYNTECH 
| DATA 
I SYSTEMS 

EXPANDORAM 4 $826 

EXPANDORAM 4 W EDC $1,436 

SD 300 CHASSIS W 6 SLOT $399 

MORROW 

PIVOT PORTABLE W/ DUAL 5% DRVS, BATT 

266K, MODEM. MSDOS, NEWWORD CALL 

MD3 W/TERMINAL 8. EPSON FX100 $1,999 

MD6 W/TERMINAL & EPSON FX1 00 $1,999 

MOf I W/TERMINAL 8i EPSON FX1 00 $2,996 



/ 



U~ 



Intercontinental 
Micro Systems 



CPI 48006 6MHz MASTER 
266KMB MEMORY BOARD 
CPS 16 266K 8MHz 8086 SLV 

CPSB40 64K RAM SLAVE 6MHz 
CPS-B6A 128K RAM SLAVE 6MHz 
MUTD E Z80 MULTI TURBODOS 



** ADVANCED 

DIGITAL 



PC-SLA VE/ 1 6-256K bmhz 

2 SERIAL PORTS - TURN YOUR 

PC INTO A HIGH SPEED MULTI USER 

MACHINE W/ TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY 

SUPER SIX 128 6MHz 

SUPER SLAVE 128 6MHz 

SUPER 186 256K MSTR SLAVE 4 USERS 

CP/M 3 

TURBODOS VER 1 4 8 BIT MULTI-USER 



$739 
$709 
$989 
$389 
$629 
$666 



$750 
$739 
$525 
$1,295 
$300 
$450 



5UON 



MA612 W PAK l( $599 



PERSONAL SPEECH 
SYSTEM 



S-100 DIV./696 CORP. 

14455 NORTH 79TH ST. 

SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260 



SALES 800-528-3138 

OUST. SERVICE/TECH. 602-991-7870 
TELEX 165025 FTCC SEC PHX 



fiSHE 



TE 



a 



ROMErXHEU 

HAYES COMPAT. W/ LOTS OF FEATURES $326 
W/ MAC PAC $389 



(Hi) 



US ROBOTICS 



PASSWORD 1 200 AUTO ANS. /DIAL 
IBM PERSONAL MODEM W TELPAC 



$296 
$289 



software; 



8 SSDD OR AS SPECIFIED 
SOFTWARE IS NOT RETURNABLE 

BDS "C" COMPILER 8 BIT $99 

COMPUTER INNOVATIONS C86 "C" $299 

COMPUVIEW VEDIT 86 ■ $1 66 MSDOS $1 20 

SORCIM SUPER CALC 3 IBM-PC $246 

DATAFLEX MULTI USER DATA BASE CALL 

NEW WORD WORD PROCESSOR $169 

30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE 

LATTICE C (CP/M86 & MS PC DOS) $316 



m DIGITAL RESEARCH 



"C" LANGUAGE COMPILER 86 



TFRMIMAIS 

LIBERTY TERMINALS 

QUMEQVT102G $419 

WYSE-50 1 4" 1 32 COLUMN $51 9 

MONITORS 

AMDEK 300A AMBER MONITOR $146 

PRINCETON GRAPHICS HX-12 $469 

TAXAN RGB VISION 420 $469 

ZENITH ZVM 122A AMBER NON GLARE $86 

ZENITH ZVM 123A GREEN NON-GLARE $86 



printers: 



BROTHER DAISYWHEEL 

HR-15 SER OR PAR 17CPS 
HR-26 SER OR PAR 23 CPS 
HR 35 SER OR PAR 36 CPS 

BROTHER DOT MATRIX 

2024L 24 PIN HEAD, GRAPHICS 
BROTHER Ml 009 60 CPS 6 LBS 
EPSON ALL MODELS & ACCESSORIES 
OKIDATA ALL MODELS 8. ACCESSORIES 

TALLY MT160L 160CPS s or p 

:^^=: drives 



$366 
$626 
$849 

$926 
$196 

CALL 
CALL 
$660 



WE SERVICE FLOPPY DRIVES 
5Y4" OR 8" + PARTS + SHIP. $45 



AMPW 



TAPE BACK UP 



IDXCS-10OT 1 7 6Mb S 100 BUS 
IDS 412 SCSI/SASI 17 6Mb 

PC-QICTAPE 60Mb IBM PC 



$1,949 

$1,949 
$1,949 



i (l huh Hi Amcodyne 

ARAPAHOE 8" SMD 26Mb FIX & REMOV $3,996 

OPTIONAL FAN $69 POWER SUPPLY $289 

MITSUBISHI ELECTRONICS 

a 4851 Va HT 6V4 " 48TPI $159 

m 4853 V2HT 5%" 96TPI $179 

MV-^L M2894 STD 8 DSDD $399 

^ M2896 V, HI 8 DSDD $399 



142 DSDD 5% V, HI 
242 DSDD 8 Vj HI 
842 DSDD 8 STD HI 



Pume 

SANYO 6WWTFLPY 

landon 100-2 6v«- dsdd 



$149 
$359 
$449 

$119 



Dy 



fjgj) 



>CV?*J 26Mb 8" CARTRIDGE $139 

bill I- 6Mb 6' « CARTRIDGE $89 



MD1D IW SSDD BOX/10 
fc MD2D WW DSDD BOX/10 



MD2D 96TPI *W DSDD BOX/10 
FD2D 1024N 8" DSDD BOX/10 



$18 
$22 
$34 

$32 



^^! 



LITE STAND-BY POWER 



BC-426FC 426 WATTS. 4 OUTLETS 
BC-1000-FC 1000 WATTS. 4 OUTLETS 

ISOBAR SUPPRESSOR 
& NOISE FILTERS: 

IBAR 26 2 OUTLETS & 6 FT CORD 
IBAR 4-6 4 OUTLETS & 6 FT. CORD 
IBAR 8-15 8 OUTLETS & 16 FT. CORD 



$469 

$1,949 



$40 
$66 
$69 



T Hr "EiiF PC W/266K. flpy & 

jL^^Jt"^ 10Mb H.D. $2,330 

64K RAM 4164-150 NS 

9 CHIPS/SET $24 

256K RAMS @ 150nS $14.50 

8087 3 MATH CO PROCES $1 30 

FORTRON 140 watt IBM-PC P/S $155 

HARD DISK SUBSYSTEMS: 

12Mb RODIA/IE PC INSIDER $719 

27Mb PODIA/IE PC OUTSIDER $1,375 

42Mb OUflflTUlD PC OUTSIDER $1,815 
52Mb MICROPOLIS PC OUTSIDER $2,250 
85Mb RASEdOT PC OUTSIDER S2795 
105Mb ^^3jrtOf PC OUTSIDER S3. 695 
140Mb ■VlSSdOl' PC OUTSIDER $4,495 
WANGTEK PC 36 60Mb TAPE BACK-UP 

PC INTERNAL SUBSYSTEM $1,525 

PC EXTERNAL SUBSYSTEM $1625 



QUARTER BYTE 2 56K 

RIO PLUS II 256K 

GRAPHIC PLUS II W PARALLEL 

SUPER RIO 266K 

RIO GRANDE 128K/IBM AT 

TEGVMRi 

IBM-AT/MAESTRO W/O RAM TO 2.1Mb 
S Bj P PORT. TREASURE CHEST 
PRINTER & MEM DISK SOFTWARE 
CAPTAIN OK, IS. IP, CLK/CAL 
WAVE 'XT' MEMORY BD 64K 
GRAPHICS MASTER - HIGH RES COLOR 
GRAPHICS TENDER MONOCHROME 
jr CADET 266K ADD ON PIGGYBACK BD. 



Mac Drive 



73020 2X 6Mb REMOVABLE H D. 
73200 10Mb FIXED H.D 
7321 1 0Mb FIXED W/ 6Mb 



$249 
$395 
$326 
$360 
$369 



$399 
$219 
$189 
$439 
$199 
$249 

$2,429 
$1,469 
$2,429 



rvi 
COGiltronix 



SWITCH BOXES 



FOR NETWORKING MULTIPLE PRT *S, MODEMS 

TERMINALS & OR SYSTEMS BY MANUAL 

OR AUTO WfTH SOFTWARE CONTROL CALL 



Ye*'™ I data 

I systems 



Z-150 PC THE MOST COMPATIBLE PC 

Z-150 PC (W/ 10 6Mb H D ) 



$2,096 

• 2 888 



ULL DEALER SUPPORT 
ISIT OUR SHOWROOM 
rs. 8:30AM - 5:00PM M F 



All merrtiandiM new W« accept MC. Visa, Wires, COD ($5 mm fee) with 
Cashiers Check/ MO, P.O.'s from qualified firms APO accepted Shipping: 
minimum $4 first 3 Ubs Tax: AZ Res Only add 6% sales tax All returns 
subject to 20% restocking fee Advertised prices for Mail Order Only Retail 
prices slightly higher Prices subject to change 

Inquiry 271 for Dealers. 
Inquiry 272 lor End Users. 



wabash 

When it conies to 

Flexible Disks, nobody 

does it better than 

Wabash. 

MasterCard, Visa Accepted. 
Call Free: (800)235-4137 



PACIFIC 
EXCHANGES 

100 Foothill Blvd 
San Luis Obispo. C A 
93401 UnCal call 
(805) 543-1037) 




Erases Most Eproms 
in 3 Minutes ^ 






Solid State 2-8 Min. 

Timer Version $54.95 

For all 24 or 28 Pin Devices 



90-DAY WARRANTEE 



WILLING CO. 



DEALER INQUIRIES 

WELCOME 

SHIPPING & HANDLING 

$2.50 

AZ RESIDENTS 

ADD 6% TAX 



4401 S JUNIPER • TEMPE, AZ 85282 • (602) 838-1277 



3M Diskettes 
Lifetime Warranty 



Think you're getting the best price 
on 3M Diskettes? 

You're right . . . BUT ONLY IF . . . 
You're buying from 
NORTH HILLS CORP. 
We will beat any nationally adver- 
tised price* or give you a 15 disk 
library case FREE! 

Call us last— TOLL FREE— for our 
best shot every time. 

1-800-328 3472 
Formatted and hard sectored disks in 
stock. 

Dealer inquiries invited. COD's and charge cards 
accepted. All orders shipped from stock within 24 
hours. Why wait 10 days to be shipped? 



AJU w 



North Hills Corporation 

3564 Roilinq View Dr 
White Bear Lake, MN 55110 
MN Call Col lee* 1 612 770 04B'« 
'verifiable; same product, same quantities 



inquiry 244 



Inquiry 328 



Inquiry 234 



Serial 4 HH'IH ■ ^ Parallel 




Convert What You Have 
To What You Want ! 

" RS232 Serial " Centronics Parallel 

" 8 Baud Rates ' Handshake Siortals 

* Latched Outputs " Compact 3v, x 4% x V, 

No longer will your peripheral choices be limited by the type 
ot port you have available! Our new High Performance 700 
Series Converters provide the missing link. Based on the 
latest in CMOS technology, these units feature full baud 
rate selection to 19.2K, with handshake signals to maximize 
transfer efficiency. Detailed documentation allows 
simplified installation Order the Model 770 (Ser/Par) or 
Model 775 (Par/Ser) Today! 



iiaErtraniLB 



only * 



1*5 



2734-C Johnson Dr. 

Post Office Box 3717 

Ventura, California 93006 



Connector Option J10 00 
CA Residents 6'-. ta< 
UPSSh»ppln B i3 00 



CALL (805) 658-7466 or 658-7467 
w For FAST Delivery I 




Sure 
ifls insured? 

SAFEWARE Insurance provides full 

replacement of hardware, media and 

purchased software. As little as $35/yr covers: 

• Fire • Theft • Power Surges 
• Earthquake • Water Damage • Auto Accident 

For information or immediate coverage call: 

1-800-848-3469 

In Ohio call (614) 262 -0559 

SAFHVtARK. THE INS I 'RANGE AGENCY INC 



fill mflRYfTlAC INDUSTR.ES INC 

800-231-3680 

Radio Shack TRS-80 s 
Epson Printers 

People you Trust to give you the very best! 



• Lowest 
Price 

• Reliable 
Service 

• Quality 
Products 



f wttWfty ^^P*! 



p » .;..........,.. ^M i 



22511 Katy Fwy , Katy (Houston) Texas 77450 
(713) 392-0747 Telex 774132 



Inquiry I06 



Inquiry 273 



Inquiry 1 99 



DUST 
COVERS 

For Personal Computers and Small 
Business Systems, Peripherals, Game 
Units - Protective, Long-Lasting Vinyl 
Resists Both Dust and Liquids 

-CHOICE OF COLORS - 

Amdek Franklin Ace 
Apple IBM 
Atari Kaypro 
BMC Okidata 
Columbia Rana Systems 
Commodore Star Micronics 
Corona Televideo 
Eagle Texas Instruments 
Epson PLUS OTHERS 

GROUP/VOLUME DISCOUNTS A/AILABLE 

FOR FREE BROCHURE WRITE: j 
ENCHANTED FOREST 
P.O. Box 5261 , Newport Beach, CA 92662 

(118 Onyx) 

Dealer Inquiries Invited 




| The Statistician | 


CPM IBM-PC 
TRS-DOS XENIX 


" Multiple Regression * Survey Research 
Stepwise * Nonpararnetncs 
Ridge * X-Y Plots 
All Subsets * ANOVA 
Backward Elimination * Random Samples 

* Time Series Analysis * Data Base 

" Descriptive Statistics * Search & sort 

* Transformations * Hypothesis tests 

Please call TOLL FREE 
1-800-334-0854 (Ext. 814) 

j^m jj^^ f or more information 
M M or 

■ ^Ht Quant Systems 

■ M Box 628 

^^LfllS^ Charleston, SC 29402 
^^^^JP* VISA-M/C Accepted 


Inquiry 105 for Dealers, 




Inquiry 263 



IN 
STOCK 



MODEMS 



2 DAY 
SHIP 



• Hayes Compatible * 
# Free Communications Software # 

HAYES 1200 #$449 

U.S ROBOTICS . Password 

300/ 1200 A uto A/ 1 > w/ cub le s, spkr #$314 

ANCHOR AUTOMATION SIGNALMAN 

Mark I 300 Baud $ 69 

Mark X 300 Baud Auto A/D #$119 

Mark XII 1200/300 Auto A/D **239 

Ql'BIE" 

Internal :U)U IHH) Auto A/D #$269 

External 300/1200 Auto A/D #$289 

DIRECT CONNECT DEVICES 

P.O Box 13256, San Luis Obispo, C A 93406 



CALL FOR 

FRKK 
CATALOG 



E 



CALL TO 
ORDER: 

(HOT)) , r >4 3-6308 



Dealer Inquiries Invited 



Inquiry 89 




REMEX 

5Va" 40 TRACK 
DOUBLE SIDED/DENSITY 
2 /o-HEIGHT FLOPPY DRIVES 

Tested up to 2m S Track-to-Track Access 

EACH 2-9 10+ 

$59. 95 $49 EACH $45 EACH 

BRAND NEW - IN FACTORY CARTONS! 

BNRMXS23 (Sh. wt 4 lbs. each) 

Single & Dual %- Height Floppy Drive Cabinets 

BNJMR123 Single-Drive Cabinet (5 lbs.) $65.00 
BNJMR223 Dual- Drive Cabinet (7 lbs.) $99.00 



5Mbyte 
Hard Disk Drive 
SHUGART 604 




ST506 Compatible - In Factory Cartons 
60 DAY WARRANTY! 



EACH 



2-9 



10+ 



$199 $189* $175* 

BNSHU604 (Sh. wt. 9 lbs.) 

Single & Dual 5 1 A" Hard Disk Drive Cabinets 

BNIIIHD5001 Single Drive Cabinet (16 lbs.) $239.00 
BNJMRHDC52 Dual Drive Cabinet (20 lbs.) $299.00 



COMPUTER SYSTEMS 

MORROW DESIGNS 






Micro Dectsww 5MDvtehrfldisk&terminlBNPDBNDSMD5 St 999 00 
BastceOSupwCaitPersonai-PearlarK) BNMDSMD11S0FT S 35000 
Pilot software tor MD5 above 

SANYO 

MBCS50-2 MS-DOS 1 dbl/sd drive sys- BNPDBSY0999 $ 999.00 

tern w.Gm screen motility & SOcps printer 

IDM PC COMPATIBLE ADD-ONs 



FronWIn Hard Dbki 

10M8 Internal 10 lbs 

1 0MB External 18 lbs 

10M8 Internal VHeight 8 lbs 

20MB internal > Height 8 lbs 

15MB internal 10 (OS, 

15MB External 18 lbs 

33MB Internal 12 lbs. 

33MB External 20 lbs 

10MB Streaming Tape internal 10 lbs 

10MB Streaming Tape External 18 lbs 

10MB Tape& 20 MB disk Ext 25 lbs 



whh Control I #0 



9NFTCHDI10 

BNFTCHDX10 

BNFTCItOHH 

BNFTCI20HH 

BNFTCHDI15 

BNFTCH0X15 

BISIFTCHDI33 

BNFTCHDX33 

BNFTCTI1Q 

BNFTCTE10 

BNFTCF20T 



$ 74900 
$ 695 00 
$ 74900 
$119500 
S 99500 
$1095 00 
$1895.00 
$2095 00 
$ 795 00 
$ 89500 
$1995 00 



64 K RAM expansion tor IBM PC 
contains 9-4164's 



BNPDBIBMMEM9 $ 3900 



64K RAM expansion lor IBM PC" BMP0BIBMMEM9 $ 3 

contains 9-4164's 1 lb 

256K Dynamic RAM chips 150ns BNHM50256P15 $ 3 

8 or more $1 9 95 each 

IDM AT Compatible Hard Disk Driv* 

1 2 Mbyte fc height w/hrrjware Slbs BNIIIATFDD $ 35 

20Mbyte hrd dskforiTiattrJ. SEAGATE 5ltaBNSEAST225F $ 6! 
33Mbyte hrd dsk tormatld QUANTUM 9lbsBNQTM0540F $ 1 5S 

VIDEO CARDS 

IBM color video card 2 lbs BNIBM1504910 

IBM Monochrome Card 2lbs BNIBM1504900 

IDM-PC " COMPATIBLE MONITORS 



IBM 12' green screen 18lbs BNIBM5151001 

TAXAN 12 green screen tor IBM ifltte BNTAX12T 
TAXAN 12 amber screen lor IBM 18lbsBNTAX122 
IBM 13" color RGB 26 lbs BN I BM5 153001 

TAXAN \T color RGB w/cable 28lbs BNTAXRGB42Q 
STO CARDS 12 ibs each) 

Super RIO (64 Ki BNSTBSHIQ S 

Super i.'O BNSTSIO S 

RIO PLUS 164 K) BNSTBRI0PLS S 

Graphic PLUS II 8NSTBGRPLS2 $ 

RIO GRANDE "AT"" Multifunction 128KBNSTBRGB128 $ 

GRANDE BVTE 128K Exp to 2MB AT BNSTBG812B $ 

TECMARDOARDS 

The CAPTAIN^ Mulli board 64 K BNTECCAPTAIN $ 

256K Dynamic memory 8NTEC256KDM $ 

WAVE'" XT Memory board BN TEC WAVE $ 

GRAPHICS MASTER" BNTECGRMSTR $ 

EXPANSION CHASSIS tor IBM PC" BstolBNTECEXPCHS S 

HERCULES GRAPHIC CARDS 

High res monochrome card BNHECGC $ 

Color card with printer port BNHECC0LOR $ 

QUADRAM CARDS (2 lbs. each} 

EXPANDED QUADBOARD 10 *) BNOORODBRDXPO $ 

0UAD8OARD II BNQDRQOBRDIIO $ 

0UA0C0L0R I' BNODRODCLRI $ 

OUAOCOLOR II" BNODROOCLRH $ 

QUAD 512 (64 K installed) BNQ0RQDS12+ $ 

0UA0LINK BNODRODLiNK % 

Serial ml card 1-RS232 BNQDRRS232 $ 

Serial expanse lor above BNODRRS232EXP $ 

Parallel card BN90RIPIC $ 

VIDEO MONITORS 



239 00 
229 00 
219 00 
449 00 
25900 
539 00 
89 00 
40 00 
B9.0C 



SANTO 12MH* 12' Amtjer 18 Ibs 
SANTO 18MHz 12' Green 24 Ibs 
SANTO 18MHz 12 Amber 24 Ibs 
TAXAN 18MH; 12 Green IH lbs 
TAXAN 18MHz 12" Amber 18 lbs 
SANYO 13' RGB color 7MHz 30 Ibs 
TAXAN 12 RGB color 6MHz SO lbs 



BNSyODM2212 $ 7900 

BNSTODM8112CX $ 12900 

BNSYODM8212CX $ 12900 

BMTAX115 $ 13900 

8NTAX116 $ 13900 

BNSyOOM7500 $ 379.00 

BNTAX210 $ 31900 



DISKETTES and ACCESSORIES 
MAXELL 

8" dbl/dens Single sided lib BMMXLI 01 128M12M $ 27.50 

8" dbVdens double sided lib ammxlfdzxdmizqo $ 3495 



PRINTERS 



S-100 CPU DOARDS 

SrnpomQ weight on all S-100 boards 2lbs each 



RX80 20lbs 
RX80FT 20(bs 
RX100 26lbs 
FX80 20 lbs 
FX100 26 lbs 
LQ1500 Ser ml 30cps 
L01 500 Par ml 30cps 



EPSON 

8NEPNRX80+ $ 239.00 
BNEPNRX8QFT+ $ 279.00 
BNEPNRX100+ $ 42900 
BNEPNFX80+ $ 39900 
BNEPNFX10Q+ $ 59900 
BNPDBEPNLQ150QSS1Z49.00 
BNPDBEPNL01500P$t19900 



TOSHIDA 



OKIDATA 

82A w/tractor teed 25 Ibs BNOKIDAT8ZAT $ 349 00 

83A w/tractor teed 35 lbs BNOKIDAT83AT $ 589 00 

84A • parallel 35 Ibs. BN0KIDAT84AP $ 895 00 

84 A • serial 35 lbs. BN0KIDATB4AS $ 979.00 

92 A - parallel 25 lbs BN0KIDAT92AP $ 46900 

92A - serial 25 Ibs. BN0KIDAT92AS $ 61000 

93A - parallel 35 Ibs BN0KIDAT93AP $ 69900 

93A - serial 35 lbs. BN0KIDAT93AS $ 925 00 

MANNESMANN TALLY 

MT160L 80 col 21 lbs. BNTALMT160L $ 575 00 

MT1 BO L 132 col 28 lbs. BNTALMT180L $799 00 



P1 340 serial 30lbs. 
Pi 340 parallel 30 ibs 
P1351 parallel 35 lbs 
Bidirectionl tractor lor P1351 Bibs 
Single bin cul sheet leeder 
tor P1 351 15 lbs 



Gemini 10X20 lbs 

Gemini 10X for IBM PC 20 lbs" 

Gemini 15X 26 Ibs. 

Gemim 15X lor IBM PC" 26 Ibs 

Serial interlace tor GEMINI X series 

Serial interface with 4K buffer 

C0EX80FT- parallel 21 Ibs 



BNTSHP1340S $ 699.00 

BNTSHP1340P $ 699.00 

BNTSHP1351P $1299.00 

BNTSHA04003 $ 195.00 

BNTSHA05Q02 $ 995.00 



BNSTRGEM10X $ 259.00 

BNSTRGEM10XPC $ 329.00 

BNSTRGEM15X $ 379,00 

BNSTR6EM15XPC 1 449.00 

BNSTRSERINTX $ 59.00 

BNSTRSERINTX4K $ 119.00 

BNC0X80FT $ 179.00 



MACROTECH 80286 4 Z80 

CompuPro CPU-Z 

CompuPro 8085/88 dual processor 

SDSS8C-300 4MHZ 

SOS SBC-300 6MHz 

ADVANCED DIGITAL SuperSix w/floppy 

controller, 128K RAM 

ADVANCED DIGITAL 4 MHz SBC IV 

floppy controller. 64K RAM 

ADVANCED DIGITAL 4MHz SBC. 8" 

floppy controller. 64 K RAM 



BNGBTA041 



BNMACM1286 $1395 00 
$ 269.00 
$ 39900 
$ 599 00 
$ 69900 

BNADCSUP6128 $ 69900 

BNADCSBC15 $ 595 00 
BNADCSBC18 $ 595.00 



S-100 RAM DOARDS 



PRINTER DUFFERS 



64K Merobufler (serial) 2 lbs BNPRPMB1S64 $ 249.00 

64K Microbuffer (parallel) 21bs BNPRPMB1 P64 $ 24900 

Mwrooufter II+ lor Apple (serial) 2lbs BMPRPMB2PUUS16S $189.00 

Vicrobufler 11+ lor Apple (parafteli 2lbs BMPRPMB2PLUS16P$1 69,00 



CompuPrri HAMZ3 l 64 K 
CompuPro RAM 23 / 128K 
SOS ExpandoflAM 111/696 
SDS ExpandoRAM IV 
MACROTECH 1 Megabyte 
CompuPro RAM 22 / 256K 



BNGBTA316 

BNGBTA319 

BNSDS38097 

BNSDS38088 

BNMACMAXM 

BNGBTA070 



$ 34900 
$ 59900 
$ 499.00 
$ 825.00 
$2195.00 
$1199.00 



S-100 RAM DISK DOARDS 



CompuPro M-Onve/H* 512K 
SDS RAM disk 256 K 



PROMETHEUS 

ProModem 1 200 baud auto dial/ans 4 lbs BNPRMPM 1200 $349 00 
ProModem IBM-PC" card w/software BNPRMPM1200B $28900 
ProModem Apple II card w/software BNPRMPM1200A $34900 

ProModem tor Macintosh w/cable 4 software BNPRMPM) 2Q0M $39900 
Afpha/num display tor ProModem BNPRMDISPLAY $ 7900 

Options processor for ProModem BNPRMOPTPRO $ 7900 

64 K Memory exp, tor options processor BNPD6PRMEXP64 $ 59.01 



MODEMS 

HAYES 

1200 Baud Smartmodem4 lbs BNDCHO400P $479.00 

1200 Baud tor IBM-PC" w/software BNDCH1200B $ 429.00 

300 Baud Smartmodem BNDCH0200P $ 249.00 

Micromodem II lor Apple BNDCH701400 S 24900 



BNGBTA072 
6NSDS38082 



$ 89900 
$ 64900 



S-IOO I/O DOARDS 



Vector Intertacer II 
CompuPro Intertacer 3 
CompuPro Intertacer 4 
CompuPro System Support 1 
SDS 4 port Async serial 
SDS 8 port Async serial 
SDS 8 port 4- Async 4 -sync 



BNVCT8800GF2B $ 25900 

BNGBTA078 $ 59900 

8NGBTA080 

8NGBTA103 

BNSDS38096 

BNSDS38093 

BNSDS38094 



$ 349.00 
$ 35000 
$ 449 00 
$ 529 00 
$ 649 00 



$ 250 00 
$ 25000 

$ 275 00 
$ 16900 
$ 17900 
$ 680 00 
$ 495 00 



W BH50SZ5t$1.«»*«-7!JVp'cW 

& 4 Ot% FftCH In Cartons of 1000 1 



S-100 CONTROLLER DOARDS 

FOR FLOPPY DISKS 



CompuPro DISK 1 DMA 

CompuPro DISK1 A DMA 

SDS VersaFloppy II with CP/M 3 0" 

[a special implementation by SDS) 

SDS VersaFloppy III 

with&V unbanked CP/M 3 0" 
with 6 unbanked CP/M 3 0" 
with 5%" tanked CP/M 30" 
with 8" bankeo' CP/M 3.0" 



BNGBT54018 $ 399 00 

BNGBTA084 $ 549 00 

BNPDBVF2CPM3 $ 299 00 

BNSDS38099 $ 599 00 

BNPDBVF339145 $ 749 00 

BNPDBVF339146 $ 749 00 

BNPOBVF339147 $ 749 00 

BNPDBVF339148 $ 749 00 



FOR HARD DISK 



DISK DRIVES 



0" DRIVES 



SIEMENS Single side dbl/density 18lbs BNSIEFDD1008 $125 00 

2 to 5 Drrves $1 10 00 each / 6 or more Drives $99 00 each 
WORLD DISK DRIVES Double side 8NWDD2008P $21900 

dbl/densiiy I8lb& 2 to 5 Drives $199.00 each 

6 or more Drives $189 00 each 
MITSUBISHI dot side, dbl dens 18lbs 8NMITM289463B $ 375 00 
TANDDN ft height sgl side, dW dens 9lbsBNTNDTM8481E $ 319.00 
TANDON v ? neight dbl side, dbl dens 9lbs.BNTNDTM8482E $ 389 00 



5V4" DRIVES 

SHUGART 40trk ft height dbl side 3lbs. BNSHUSA455 $ 149.00 
TEAC 48tpi Vi height, dbl Side 3lbs BNTEA55B $ 15500 

TEAC 96t4)i ''a heighl dbl Side 3lbs BNT EA55F $ 169.00 

TANDON 100-2 40 trky I height BNTNDTM1002 $19900 

dbl side 4 lbs 

5V4" HARD DISK 

QUANTUM 42 Mbyte Hard disk 9 Ibs BNOTMQ540 $1495.00 

TANDON 19 2Mbyte Hrd Disk BNTND503 $ 895 00 

Seagate ST225 H higfi 25Mbyte 5lbs BNSEAST225 S 795 00 

MAXTOR 85Mbyte 30ms access t2lbs BNMXTXT1085 $299500 

MAXTOR 140Mbyte 30ms access I2lbs BNMXTXT1140 $399500 
MICROPOLIS 52 Mbyte 12 Ibs BNMCP1304 $1695.00 



CompuPm DISK3 Seagate ST500 series BNGBTA087 $ 558 95 
ADVANCED DIGITAL Seagate 500 BNADCHDC10015 $ 39900 

compatible 



DISK DRIVE ENCLOSURES 

3 ENCLOSURES 






9161 Deering Ave., 

PRIORITY 



Chatsworth, Calif. 

ELECTRONICS 



ORDER TOLL FREE (600) 423-5922 - CA, AK, HI CALL C818} 709-51 1 1 

^^J!!^SS^^S^^^ MC ' BACXheCR Mone y° rder ' US Fun* ONLY. CA residents ad&6*% Sales Tax. Include MINIMUM 
SHIPPING & HANDLING of $3.00 for the first 3 lbs., plus 40<t for each additional pound (20C if within California). Orders over 70 Ibs sent freight collect Just in 
case, include your phone number. Prices subject to change without notice. We will do our best to maintain prices through February 1 985 Credit card orders will be 
charged appropriate freight. We are not responsible for typographical errors. Sale prices are for prepaid orders only Inquiry 334 



ParaDynamics dual desktop 35lbs 


BNPDN2200D 


$ 479 00 




Para Dynamics dual rack mount 35 Ibs. 
JMR Dual desktop 30lbs 

5'A" ENCLC 


BNPDN2200R 


$ 499 00 
$ 229 00 




SURES . 


■ : 


JMR Single Slbs 


BMJMR1C5 


$ 59 00 


.. 


JMR Dual lull height 9lbs 


BNJMR2C5 


$ 69.00 




JMR Dual full height w/mtemal data 


BNJMR2C5C 


$ 99.00 




cable 9ibs 






" v s 


JMR Dual hall height ven mount 7lbs 


BNJMR2SV5 


$ 65 00 




JMR Single hard disk enclosure 16!bs 


BNJMRHOC51 


$ 239 00 


- 


JMR Dual hard disk enclosure 20 Ibs 


BNJMRH0C52 


$ 299.00 


' 



ORDER TOLL FREE (800) 420-5922 - CA, AK, Hi CALL (618) 709-51 1 1 



USED 
SOFTWARE 



•••! LOW PRICES!*" 

WE BUY AND SELL USED SOFTWARE 

ALL MAKES OF COMPUTERS 

SUPPORTED 

FREE CATALOG 

SOFTWARE 

EXCHANGE 

INC. 

BOX 485, 

HALES CORNERS, Wl. 

53130 



EPROM 

PROGRAMMER 



APPROTEK 1000 



$249.95 



-6 BAUD RATES - HANDSHAKE TO HOST 
ALLOWS READ, WRITE, VERIFY & COPY 

Comes complete with CPM & BASIC Driver 
Program Listings for most small micros 

Full 1 Year Warranty 

Programs the following. 5 Volt 24 or 28 pm 

devices 2 7 xx series through 27256. 

25xx series, 68766 plus others 

Specify Personality Module desired with order 

Additional Personality Modules only $ "I 5 00 ea 

TO ORDER: CALL OR WRITE 

APROPOS TECHNOLOGY 

1071 -A AVENIDA ACASO Add 

CAMAR1LLO, CA 930 1 »4.00 Shipping-USA 
(80S) 482-3604 VISA or MC Add 3% 



ft TeleVideo USERS 

RETAIL 

• Fast Dump/Restore CP/M. TurboDOS 

over 600k per disk ....$90.00 

• Basic/Z with Graph/Z $345.00 

• TurboDOS for TeleVideo from $300.00 

• LYNC Communications Package $195.00 

• 8" Disk Drive for 802 and 800A 

Drive, board and software $1200,00 

• RM/C0B0L Systems from $250.00 

• DataFlex 2.0 from $750.00 

• 803, 803H. TPC-1 and GRAPHIC programs: 

Draw! $90.00 

GamesPakl $34.95 

• 816 and 806C Tape Backup from $175.00 

• Saft Standby Power Systems: 

200VA/400VA from $575.00 

• Anti-Static Products from $39.95 

PC & COMPATIBLE USERS! 

Run your PC as. a slave to your 8-Bit 

TurboDOS System! Also see our ad on Page 459. 

Available soon: Backup for TELEVIDEO PM & 1608. 

PLUS OTHER GOOD TELEVIDEO & PC STUFF! 

COGITATE, INCORPORATED 

SPECIALISTS IN UNIQUE SOFTWARE 

24000 Telegraph Road, Southfield. Ml 48034 

(313) 352-2345 Telex 386581 

VISA/MASTERCARD Accepted 



Inquiry 285 



Inquiry 24 



Inquiry 362 



ic 



PROMPT DELIVERY!!! | 

S SAME DAY SHIPPING (USUALLY) 
8087-3 Coprocessors $124.97 

DYNAMIC RAM 

256K 256Kxi 150 ns $13.47 
128K 128KX1 150 ns 16.25 
64K 64Kxi 150 ns 2.44 

64K 64Kxi 200 ns 2.59 

EPROM 
32Kx8 300 ns 



27256 

27128 

27C64 

2764 

2732A 

2716 



16Kx8 
8Kx8 
8Kx8 
4Kx8 
2Kx8 



250 ns 
200 ns 
250 ns 
250 ns 
450 ns 



$36.25 

13.12 

1 1 .87 

5.31 

5.99 

3.21 



STATIC RAM 

6264LP-15 8KX8150 ns $18.75 
6116P-3 2Kx8 150 ns 4.06, 



OPEN 6'/z DAYS: WE CAN SHIP VIA FED-EX ON SAT 



MasterCard VISA or UPS CASH COD 

Factory New, Prime Parts ojPqo 

MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED 

24.000 Soulh Peona Ave /Q10\ OA7_dQfi1 
BEGGS.OK 7442! i 91H > »'-«*" 

Prices shown above are for January 7, 1985 

Ptoaao cad toi current prtcae Pncas subject to change Please expect higher or tower prices on 
I and our chenguig costs Shipping 4 insurance extra Cash 
i recetverj by 6 PM CST can usually be detrvered to you by 
ipreae Standard Air •« te.731 



some parts due to 



own Smalor 



"BASF 

DISKETTES 

BASF Diskettes at compe- 
titive price. Call TOLL FREE 
(800) 235-4137 for prices and 
information. Visa and Master 
Card accepted. 



PACIFIC 
EXCHANGES 

KH) Foothill Bkd 
San Luis Obispo CA 
l M401 iln Cal call 
(80S) 543-1037 I 




n 




..ROSE DATA SWITCHES 

^y ELECTRONICS „., . „ 

SHARE computers, printers, 
any parallel or serial device 
ELIMINATE cable swapping 
INEXPENSIVE way to network 
COMPATIBLE with 
all computers. 

Businesses, Schools, Homes 
WE ALSO OFFER: 
Data Buffers, Line Drivers, 
Modems, Protocol Converters, 
Parallel - Serial Converters, 
Cables, Computers, Printers, 
Disk Drives, and more. 
AUTOMATIC - CARETAKER ts ideal for a business or 
school to share a printer or modem among many computers 
Operation is fully automatic with no software required. 
Parallel or Serial 4 channels - $295 8 channels - $395 
MANUAL ■ HARDSWITCH is operated with the flip of a 
switch 2:2 and 2:4 models allow simultaneous commun- 
ication 

Serial 1 2 - $59 1.4-$ 99 2:2 -$109 2:4 -$169 

Parallel 12 -$99 14 -$159 22 -$189 2:4 - $279 
LED and spike protection on serial models add $20 
CODE ACTIVATED - PORTER connects one computer to 
multiple peripherals A software code selects the peripheral 
Parallel or Serial 4 channels - $295 8 channels - $395 
Buffer option 64 K - $100 256K - $250 
REMOTE - TELEPATH connects multiple computers to 
multiple peripherals A selector at each computer or terminal 
chooses up to 4 peripherals and displays busy status 
4 4 - $495 4:8 - $795 selector - $39. 

- $ive « S»4e t» tfottt cam/mCct ■+- ■ -■-- 

ROSE ELECTRONICS (713) 240-7673 

P.O. BOX 742571 MC & VISA Accepted 

HOUSTON, TX 77274 Dealer Inquiries Invited 

CALLUS FOR ALL YOUR INTERFACE NEEDS 



Inquiry 215 



inquiry 244 



Inquiry 363 



Turbo + PC Tools = Programs 

Tools for Turbo PascafTM n the IBMTM pc 
Window Management ■ menus, help files 

• Unlimited windows * Window overlay & recall 

• Cursor save & jump • Access all colors & chars 

• Window Compiler/Librarian manages window files 
Graphics Drawing = HiRes plotting power! 

• Ellipses, polygons • Region fill and clear 
& more 

String Formula Evaluator = easy calculation 

• 22 functions with nesting and implicit 
multiplication 

• Won't bomb on overflow or division by zero 
System Check and Control = max flexibility! 

• Time & date access • Get disk types & room 

• Get & set default • 1/0 information 
drive 

All this for only $39.95* . . . Incredible! 
You get 321 K of source code on a double-sided disk 
and a 35 page manual. For single-sided drives add 
$2. Works with DOS 2.0. Turbo 2.0. 
'Please include $2 for postage and handling ($4 if 
outside of USA). Californians add 6%. 

Paragon Courseware 

4954 Sun Valley Road 

Del Mar, C A 92014 

(619)481-1477 

Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International 

IBM is a trademark of the IBM Corporation 



DATA ACQUISITION TO GO 

INTERFACE FOR ANY COMPUTER 




Connects via RS-232. Built-in BASIC. 
Stand alone capability. Expandable. 
Battery Option. Basic system: 16 ch. 
12 bit A/D, 2 ch. D/A, 32 bit Digital I/O. 
Expansion boards available. Direct 
Bus units for many computers. 

SPECIALISTS IN PORTABLE APPLICATIONS 

(201) 299-1615 

P.O. Box 246, Morris Plains, NJ 07950 



ELEXOR 



Electronic 

Circuit 

Analysis 

• New release 

• Transient, AC, DC analysis 

• Full nonlinear 

• Over 200 nodes 

• Full editing 

• Macro circuits 

• Worst case, Monte-Carlo 

• Temperature effects 

• Frequency dependent parts 

• Time dependent parts 

For MS-DOS. 128k minimum. 
$395.00 

Tatum Labs 
P.O. Box 698 
Sandy Hook, CT 06482 
(203) 426-2184 






Inquiry 245 



Inquiry 180 



Inquiry 364 



that's New at -n»s««. -* 

AMERICAN DESIGN COMPONENTS? 5SSXE b, '" ,p ° n " 



We warehouse 
60,000 items at 
American Design Compo- 
nents — expensive, often 
hard-to-find components 
for sale at a fraction of 
their original cost! 

You'll find every part 
you need — either brand 
new, or removed from 
equipment (RFE) in excel- 
lent condition. But quanti- 
ties are limited. Order 
from this ad, or visit our 
retail showroom and find 
exactly what you need 
from the thousands of 
items on display. Open 
Mon.-Sat., 9-5. 



THERE'S NO RISK. 

With our full 30 day warranty, 
any purchase can be returned for 
any reason for full credit or refund. 



A. APPLE 2c DISC 
DRIVE 




Original equipment drive, 
compatible with Apple 2e, 
2 + , and 2c. 

$139.50 RFE 



B. 115 CFM MUFFIN- 
FAN 






Metal frame 
with 5 high 
impact plastic blades. For 
cooling HiFi, etectronic 
equipment, computers, 
etc. Mounts for intake or 
exhaust. 115 VAC, 60Hz. 
Dim:4 1 Vi6"x1 1 / 2 "D. 

$7.95 RFE 



C. 150 CFM SUPER 
MUFFIN" FAN . 



S3 



Upgrade 
your 

computer ) 

with this faster, super 
quiet, 5 aluminum ball 
bearing blade fan. Slightly 
larger, but mounts in same 
holes as regular Muffin. 115 
VAC, 50/60 Hz. Torin 
TA500PSC. 

$19.95 NEW 



5VV TANDON DISC DRIVES 



IBM Compatible 



Va Ht. 

D. TM55-2 
Full Ht. 

E. TM100-1 

F. TM100-2 




DS/DD $179.00 



SS/DD 99.50 
DS/DD 159.00 



Vz" Ht. 

G. TM55-4 
H. TM100-4 
J. TM101-4 



DS/Quad $179.00 
DS/Quad 179.00 
DS/Quad 199.00 



K. 48 KEY 

KEYBOARD 




COMPUTER DISC DRIVE SWITCHING 
POWER SUPPLIES 



Replace the membrane keyboard 
on your Timex/Sinelair Z-81/1000 
with this brand new "big computer" 
keyboard from Texas Instruments. 
Simple to install— complete 
instructions and schematic 
included. $5>95 NEW 




L. ±12V@1A 
+ 5V @6A 
- 5V @1A 
Dim: 9V2" x 7" 
$29.95 NEW 



M. +12V(i 

+ 5V@1.2A 

-5V@.12A 

Dim:4Ve" x4%" 

Input: 115VAC when used 

with AC wall transformer 

(supplied) $6.95 NEW 



N. CONSTANT VOLTAGE 
TRANSFORMER 
Protect Your Computer. 




Harmonic neutralized . 500 
VA, provides 120V/60Hz 
continuously, with input 
variations as great as ± 
15%. Input Voltage: 95-130 
or 190-260 VAC, 60 Hz. 
(accepts either voltage). 
Mfr: Sola. $99.00 NEW 



INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 

To order, please list on separate 
sheet of paper and attach to 
coupon. 

Description Price 

Microprocessor 

COP402N 

64CI0N 

6800 

68A09P 

MCM6810P 

68A21P 

68A45 

SY6521A/SY68B21 

IPC16A-520D 

D780C 



BLOWERS— POTENTIOMETERS— COUNTERS 
TIMERS— RELAYS— VOLTAGE REGULATORS— POWER SUPPLIES 



P. EXPAND YOUR PC STORAGE CAPACITY 

5V4" floppy disc drive. Self-contained power supply. Plus.. .matching 
disc drive controller. Originally used with Tl home computer. Each unit 
tested and in working condition, but sold "as is"— no warranty. 

While they last, $99.00 COMPLETE. 



12V NICAO BATTERY BACK-UPS (RECHARGEABLE) 




12V @450Ma. ^ ^ 
Contains 10 AA cells. "^^~-~y 
Recharge rate 45Ma, 16-18 hours. 
Case with tab output connections. 
Dim:2Vie"Hx Vk' x2 1 s/ 16 "L. 
Mfr. GE #123233 or equiv. 

$5.95 RFE 




13.2V @1.65AH 
Contains 11 C cells. 
Portable computer 
battery back up. 
Mfr. GE # 41B03JBB00101 
$15.95 RFE 



P8216N 

INS8250AN 

8253-5 

8255A 

P-8255A-5 

8259A 

8279-5 

C8751H 

MB8877AP-6 

Memory 

2102L2PC 

SY2128-4 

2148 

2167 

2764 

2716 

TMS4116 

4164-15 

IM65X51IJF 

HM3-6518B-9 

N82S147N 



$ 4.50 

5.00 

2.50 

3.50 

.80 

1.25 

3.75 

1.75 

9.00 

2.50 

12.00 

1.25 

6.00 

4.50 

4.50 

4.50 

3.25 

4.50 

125.00 

20.00 

$ 1.00 
3.50 
3.50 
14.00 
5.50 
2.50 
.90 
4.00 
3.75 
2.00 
5.00 



19" COLOR X-Y 
DISPLAY 




Originally designed for use in 
Atari coin -operated games. 
Contains a 19VLUP22 3-gun 
color tube, focus and bright- 
ness controls. Has electromag- 
netic deflection and solid state 
circuitry with three "Z" amp 
inputs (red, green, blue). Ideal 
for arcade replacement or, with 
the addition of external cir- 
cuitry, for color graphics 
display. Manual included. 

$129.00 NEW 



American Design Components 



62 Joseph St.. Moonachie, NJ 07074 
(201)939-2710 



R. 



AUDIO & VIDEO 
MODULATOR 




AMERICAN DESIGN COMPONENTS, 62 JOSEPH STREET, MOONACHIE, N.J. 07074 



YES! Please send me the following items: 



Designed 
for 
use 
with Tl 
computers 
Can be 
used with 
video cameras, 
games, or other 
audio/video sources. Built 
in A/B switch enables user to switch 
from TV. antenna without disconnec- 
tion. Channel 3 or 4 selection. 
Operates on 12VDC. Schematic 
included. IBM and Apple compatible. 
Mfr.TI#UM1381-1 $7.95 NEW 



A, B.C. 
etc. 



Many? 



Description 




Shipping and handling, we ship UPS unless 

otherwise specified. Add $3 plus 10% total 

Canadian: $3 plus P.P. cost Charge only 

Sales Tax (N.J. residents only, 
please add 6% of total) 

ORDER TOTAL 



Total 



□ My check or money order is enclosed. 
D Charge my credit card. 
D Visa D Master Card 



MINIMUM 

ORDER 

$15. 

B-25 



Card No. 




Exp. Date 


Signature 


Telephone: Area Code 


Number 


Name 


Address 


City 


State 


Zip 



All inquiries and free catalog requests call 201-939-2710. 

For all phone orders, call TOLL-FREE 800-524-0809 In New Jersey, 201-939-2710. 



Inquiry 2! 



FEBRUARY 1 985 • BYTE 445 



kir 



r 



Technology, Inc. 



The Home of 

Remanufactured 



offers you an 

attractive 

alternative 



No late-corner to the high tech 
business world, we perfected our 
IC remanufacturing process in 
1975 . . . and have been serving 
the needs of important, quality- 
conscious OEMs and distributors 
ever since. Now we are making 
available, to the serious "hobby- 
ist'/ our vast inventory of ICs. 

The patented Krueger Process 
is the key to the quality or our re- 
manufacturing. Using patterned 
and controlled infra-red heat, we 
remove soldered-in ICs from ob- 
solete, over-run, or scrap PCBs. 
Then we use automated, state- 
of-the-art procedures for lead- 
straightening, repeating, optical 
scanning, and functional testing. 
The result is ICs which are 'better 
than new" because they're al- 
ready burned-in and retested. 

This means that you can now buy 
just like the OEMs ... the same 
top quality, in the small quantities 
■that meet your needs . . . 100% 
tested and guaranteed. Use your 
Visa or MasterCard. 

The listings on this page are but a 
sample selection from our full in- 
ventory. Call our toll free number 
to place your order or obtain 
information. 



EXTRA 
SPECIAL 
FEATURES 



27128 450NS 

9.95 



4164 DRAM 

9/24.95 

(3.00 - EACH) 



EPROMS 




1702 

5204 

2708 

68708 

2716 300-450NS 

2716 500-650NS 

2532, 2732 200NS 

2532, 2732 250NS 

2763 

68766 (24 PIN) 

2564, 2764 300NS 

27128 250NS 

27128 300NS 



DYNAMIC RAMS 



4164 150NS 

TMS4416 

4164 250NS 

2620 

4332 

2118 

4116 150NS 

4116 200NS 

4116 250NS 

4027 



64K 


3 00 


64K 


3 00 


64K 


2 00 


64K 


3 00 


32K 


3 00 


16K 


1 50 


16K 


89 


16K 


59 


16K 


39 


4K 


45 



STATIC RAMS 



10415 

2115 

2125 

93415 

93425 

2510 

2511 

2148 

2149 

10474 

2114 200NS 

2114 450NS 

4801 70NS 

4118 250NS 

6116 200NS 

6116 250NS 

10470 

2141 

2147 

TMS4044 200NS 

TMS4044 300NS 

1420 

2168 

2167 



Z80 SERIES 



2.5 MHZ 

CPU 1.1 

CTC 1.1 

DART 3.0 

DMA 3.0 

PIO 1.1 

StO (Any) 3.0 

4 MHZ (Z80 A) 

CPU 1 .8 

CTC 1 .8 

DART 4.5 

DMA 4,5 

PIO 1.8 

SIO (Any) 4.5 

6500/6800 
MICROPROCESSORS 

6502 1 5 

6503 1 5 

6504 2,7 
6512 12 
6522 2.7 
6532 3.7 
6545 8.0 
6800 1.7 

6802 32 

6803 7.5 

6809 5.0 

6810 7 

6820 1 .5 

6821 1.2 
6844 10.5 
6850 15 
6852 2.2 
6860 3.2 
6875 2.7 

16 BIT 
MICROPROCESSORS 



Z8001 
MC68000L8 



7.50 
18.00 



SOUND CHIPS 



AY3-8910 
AY3-8912 
76477 
76489 



DATA 
ACQUISITION 



DAC08 

DAC0800 

DAC0806 

DAC0808 

ADC0809 



8000 SERIES 



8031 

8035 

8039 

8080A 

8085 

8085A2 

8086 

8088 

8155 

8741 

8748 

8202 

8205 

8212 

8214 

8216 

8224 

8226 

8228 

8237 

8237-5 

8238 

8243 

8251 

8253 

8253-5 

8255 

8255-5 

8257 

8257-5 

8259 

8259-5 

8272 

8274 

8276 

8279 

8279-5 

8284 

8286 

8287 

8288 

8289 

8292 



"L" Series slightly higher. 

FLOPPY DISK 
CONTROLLERS 

D765 
1791 
1793 
8876 
8877 
8272 
2143 
9216 

CRT 
CONTROLLERS 



CRT5027 
CRT5037 
6845 
46505 



5.00 
10.00 
5.00 
5.00 



UARTS 



AY5-1013A 

AY3-1015A 

TR1402 

TR1602 

TR1863 

TR1472 

1482 

2350 

2651 

6402 

7201 



MISCELLANEOUS 



TMS9901 

TMS9904 

TMS9914 

TMS9980 

TMS9900 

9602 

96L02 

96LS02 



VALENTINE 
SPECIAL 



ANY 74LSXX 
ANY74LS1XX 
ANY 74LS2XX 
ANY 74LS3XX 



NOTE: This is just a sampling of our 6 million IC inventory. In addition to microproces- 
sors and memory, we carry a full inventory of linear, digital, and interface devices. 



KRUEGER Technology, Inc 

OOHO C/m .^ /1Q*k Ctm^ a T^m^ A7QCOQ1 ^tJ WW 



2219 South 48th Street • Tempe, AZ 85281 

800-245-2235 

In Arizona 602-438-1570 



A 

MasterCard! 



446 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 172 



PAL EPROM 



& UV ERASERS 
from $49.95 



LOGICAL DEVICES INC. 

tyJheAe, (lelukluldf and 

SEE OUR AD ON PAGE 346 



QE3DQ2Q 



ORDER TOLL FREE 

1-800-EE1-PROM 

(1-800-331-7766) 



CROSS 

SOFTWARE 

for the NS32000 



INCLUDES: 

* Cross Assembler * 
* Cross Linker * 

* Debugger * 

* N.S, ISE Support * 

* Librarian * 

* Pascal Cross Compiler • 

* C Cross Compiler * 

U.S. prices start at $500 



SOLUTIONWARE 

12*3 Mt. View-Alviso Rd. 
SuitoB 

Sunnyvale, Calif. 94089 
408/745-7818 * TLX 4904364 



MEMOREX 

FLEXIBLE DISCS 

WE WILL NOT BE UNDER- 
SOLD!! Call Free (800)235-4137 

for prices and information Dealer 
inquiries invited and CO.D.'s 
accepted 




PACIFIC 
EXCHANGES 

100 Foothill Bivd 
San Luis Obispo. CA 
93401 In Cal. call 
(800)592-5935 or 
,(805)543-1037 



Inquiry 186 



Inquiry 291 



Inquiry 244 



i.ow i <>;; i i i n i v !■: tt ; i a l 
I-: C K > llfOM F*HOOKAMMKH 



,-/.-, #a»ft * 

-.rlWl' 

tevv; 




t SUPPORTS: EPH0MS> 25lb THRU 64. U716 THRU 512. 
27C16 THRU 128. 687.12 THRU 66 KEPROKS i 52BKJ 
THRU 33. 2816A THRU 64 A (MICROS) 8741 THRU 49H 

* MO PERSONALITY MODULES, ONBOARD POWER SUPPLY 

* HS232C INTERFACE, XON-XOFI', RTS, CTS, DTR 

* ACCEPTS KEYBOARD ENTRY WITH LINE EDITING 

* ACCEPTS ASCII, INTEL. AND MOTOROLA KOJWATS 
« USER FRIENDLY MONITOH FOR I/O DEBUGGING 

* rkSI PROGRAMMING SUPPORTED: 2764 UNDER 9 HI*. 

t LOW/HIGH BYTE PROGRAMMING FOR 16 BIT DATA PATH 

* BYTE, BLOCK, OR CHIP ERASE I EEPHOMS ONLY* 
» LIST IN INTEL OR MOTOROLA HEX FORMAT 

* VERIFY PROGRAM AND VERIFY BLANK COMMANDS 

* 1409-01: 4K FIRMWARE, PCS, XFOHMER, DOC $90.00 

* 140902: 140901 * FULL SET OF PARTS $200.00 
» 1409 03: ASSEMBLED AND TESTED UNIT $300.00 
» 1409 tl: 8K FIRMWAHE. PCB, XFOHMER. DOC $125.00 
« 1409 12: 1409 11 ♦ FULL SET OF PARTS $250.00 

* 1409 13: ASSEMBLED AND TESTED UNIT $350.00 
» COMMUNICATION DRIVERS FOR MOST PC'S $35.00 

B&C MICROSYSTEMS 

6322 MO.IAVE DR. SAN JOSE, CA 95120 

Tel. (408)997-7685. TWX 4995363 



8085 DEBUGGER 



MICRO STEP 85 
$595 




UNIQUE 



Low cost Alternative tor microprocessor based 
hardware & software debugging. 

Available now: 8085 

Z80&8088 

DAISY DATA TERMINALS CORPORATION 

2259 Woodlawn St., Harrisburg, PA 17104 
TEL. (717)564^881 1 TELEX: 752997 DAISY HBG UD 



PC EXPANSIONS 

Qumel42A $199 

Teac FD55B $149 

Tandon TM100-2 $179 

Tandon TM101-4 $295 

CDC 9409 $179 

Amdak AmdisKV ..$119 

Case and PS $ 45 

Maynard Disk Controller $114 

Sandstar Series Scall 

Internal 10MB HD systems: WS1 $899 
WS2 $1079 

Quadboard (64 K) $259 

Quadboard (384 K) $4 1 9 

Quadcolor I $199 

ASTSixPakPlus<64K> S259 

SixPakPlusi384K) $419 

MegaPlusi64K) $269 

I/O Plus $129 

AST-3780 $659 

PCnet- starter kit $809 

MonoGraphPlus-S $389 

HERCULES graphics board $349 

HAYES Modems 300 $209 

Smartmodem 1 200 $489 

Smartmodem 1200B $419 

Set of 9 chips (64 K) $ 32 

256K chips (each) $ 23 

8087 chip $169 

Verbatim Datable DS. DD (20) ... $ 49 

VLM Computer Electronics 

10 Park Place • Mornstown. NJ 07960 
(201) 267-3268 Visa, MC, Check or COD, 



Inquiry 361 



Inquiry 326 



.V.V.VAVMViVAV.'AW?W^Wra 



TM 



Tur 



Introducing . . . 

boTax 

the ^iim/m 

personal tax program 

• IBM PC or 100% compatible 

• 33 forms, schedules & worksheets 

• FAST! Complete return in 3 sec. 

• Windows! . 

• Exceeds IRS print specs. 

• Full depreciation support 

• 190 page manual 

• Much more! 

• CA/AZ available in Dec. - $30 
Req. 256K $65 plus $5 ship/hand 

(CA residents add 6'?% sales taxi 

Chip Soft. he. 

5674 Honors 

San Diego. CA 92122 f~* 

(619)453-8722 

(800)621-0852 ext.355 

Dealer Inquiries Invited 

iVAV.VAW.V.WAV.W.V.VV.W. 




BIG DISCOUNTS ON 
LITTLE BOARDS™ 
& ACCESSORIES 



• AMPR0 LITTLE BOARD " -64K Z80a CPU CTC. 
DART. 1 parallel port. V* controller supports four 
48tpi and or 96tpi drives w CP M 2 2 and 2CPR3 
(A & T) from $329 

• SYSTEM SUPPORT PKG- Manuals, source code 
schematics connectors & cables S99 

• SCSI PLUS- DMA Hard disk interlace S99 

• TEAC 55B DSDD 48tpi t? ht drive $195 

• TEAC 55F DSDD 96tpi fc ht drive S239 

• INTEGRAND Custom two drive cabinet with 5 amp 
power supply & power cables $199 

• TERM-MATE -Cabinet tor 2V& ht I LITTLE 
BOARD w all cables & supply $229 

• AMPRO SERIES 100 complete systems SCALL 
VISA & MASTER CHARGE Personal Checks 

Please allow 2 weeks Shipped via UPS 

Pnces FOB Prame View. !L 

For additional information write or call 

DISKS PLUS - 15945 West Pope Blvd - Prairie View. IL 60069 

1312) 537-7888 

DISKS PLUS 



DATA ACQUISITION 

and control for ANY computer 




The Model 1232 communicates via RS-232, 
and has 8 analog inputs ( ± 4 VDC ; 1 2 bits), 
8 digital inputs and outputs, and a 2000 
point buffer. Suitable for field data logging 
or tab use, the 1232 costs only $690. The 
8-bit system (0-5 VDC) is $490. Detailed 
manual, $6. Phone our applications 
engineer at 617-899-8629 or write: 



w w STARBUCK w w 

"T^ T DATA COMPANY T T 



, Waltham, MA 02154 



Inquiry 48 



Inquiry 92 



Inquiry 298 






DoKa 



74LS00 



COMPUTER 
PRODUCTS, 



ORDER TOLL FREE 

(800) 
538-8800 

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS) 

(800) 

848-8008 



[MasterCard! 



STATIC RAMS 



2101 


256 


4 


5101 


256 


4 


2102-1 


1024 


1 


21021-4 


1024 


1 


21021-2 


1024 


1 


2111 


256 


4 


2112 


256 


4 


2114 


1024 


4 


2114-25 


1024 


4 


21141-4 


1024 


4 


21141-3 


1Q24 


4 


2114L-2 


1024 


4 


2125 


1024 


1 


2147 


4096 


1 


TMS4044-4 


4096 


1 


TMS4044-3 


4096 


1 


TMS4044-2 


4096 


1 


MM 11 8 


1024 


1 


TMM2016-200 


2048 


8 


-MM2Ql6-i50 


204b 


8 


TMM2015-100 


2048 


8 


HM6116-4 


2048 


8 


HM6116-3 


2048 


8 


HM61I6-2 


2048 


8 


HM6116LP-4 


2048 


8 


HM6116LP-3 


2048 


8 


HM6116LP-2 


2048 


8 


2-6132 


4096 


8 


HM6264P-15 


8192 


8 


HM6264LP-15 


8192 


8 


HM6264LP-12 


8192 


1 



(45 0u) 
|450m) (emu) 
|450u) 
(45 On) IP! 
(250k) (LP) 
(450n) 
|450m) 
|450u) 
|250u) 
(450m) (LP) 
(300m) IIP) 
(200m) (LP) 

155m) 
(450m| 
(300m) 
{200m| 
|250m| 
(200ns) 
(150m) 
1100m) 
(200m) IcimsI 
15 On*!! email 
[I20m||cihm) 
(200m| Ichim) 
(150m|{cbm|(IP| 
i120M)icmH||LP) 
(300m) (QiUtl 
(150m) femos) 
1150m) (cnM) 
|120m| (enn) 



1 9C 

390 

88 

98 

1 45 

2 45 

2 95 
99 

1.10 
120 
130 
140 
249 
4 90 
345 
395 
4 45 

3 90 
410 
490 
6.10 
4,70 
490 
8.90 
5,90 
b 90 
195 

33,95 
32.95 
3695 
46.95 



LP = U« Piwir Qstat = QuMl-Stitlc 

DYNAMIC RAMS 



TMS4D27 

UPD4U 

MM52B0 

MK4108 

MM5298 

4116-200 

4116-150 

2118 

4164-250 

4164-200 

4164-150 

41256 

41256 



1702 

2708 

2758 

2716 

2716-1 

TMS2516 

TM327I6 

TMS2532 

2732 

2732-250 

2732-200 

2764 

2764-250 

2764-200 

THS2564 

2732A 

MC68766 

27128 



I250m| 
|300m| 

(300m) 
(200m) 
1250m) 
(200m) 
(150m) 

(150mi m 

(250m) 
(200m) N 

(150m|{5«| 
1200m) 
II 50m) 



5V = SIM* 5 Vait Sipily 

EPROMS 



4096 i 1 
4096 i 1 
4096 i 1 
8192 x 1 
8192 i 1 
16384i 1 
16384 1 1 
16384 i 1 
65536 i 1 
65536 i 1 
65536 i 1 



256 i 8 lluil 
1024 i 8 14 50m I 
1024 i 8 |450mI 
2048 i 8 (450h) 
2048 I 8 [350m! 
2048 x 8 1450m! 
2048 i 8 |450h| 
4096 x 8 (450m! 
4096 i B (450m) 
4096 x 8 (250m) 
4096 x 8 (200m) 
8192 x 8 (450mI 
8192 i 8 |250m) 
8192 x 1 |200m) 
8192 x 8 |450m) 
(350m) 
8192 i 8 (450m) 
16384 x8 1250m) 
5v = Single 5 Volt 



M 

I5»| 
N 
M 

EH 

M 

!5ii 

M 

M 

(5»i 
15.1 
(5i) 

M (24 pin) 

M 

Supply 



195 
195 
195 
190 
180 
79 
1.20 
490 

2 99 

3 33 
3.99 

2995 
39.95 



4 45 
2.49 

5 90 
295 
5.90 
5.45 
695 
590 
4.45 
8.90 

10.95 
6.45 
7.45 
16.45 
12.95 
4.45 
29.95 
24.95 



74LS00 

74LS01 

74LS02 

74LS03 

74LS04 

74LS05 

74LS08 

74LS09 

74U10 

74L811 

74LS12 

74L813 

74L814 

74L815 

74LS2Q 

74LI21 

74LS22 

74LS26 

74LS27 

74U2I 34 

74LS30 .24 

74U32 

74LS33 

74LS37 

741*38 

74LS40 

74L842 

74L847 

74LS48 

74LS49 

74LS51 

74L854 

74L555 

74L863 1.20 

74LS73 36 

74LS74 

74LI76 

74LS76 

74L878 

74LS83 

74L885 

74L886 

74LS90 

74J91 

741892 

74L893 

74LI95 

74U96 

74L8107 38 

74LS109 38 

74L8112 38 

74LS113 .31 

7418114 38 

7 4.8-22 .44 

74LS1Z3 .71 

74LS124 2.85 



74LS 25 

74LS12I 
74LS132 
7 US 133 

7413138 
74LS137 
74LJ138 
74LI13S 
74U145 
74U147 
74LSi48 
74U151 
74UI53 
7 US 154 
74U155 
74LS156 
74LS157 
74U158 
74L8160 
74LSI61 
74LJ162 
74L8163 
74LS1B4 
74LS1S5 
74LS166 
74LS168 
74LS169 
74L8I70 
741*173 
74L8174 
74L8175 
74LS181 
MLS 189 
74L8190 
74LS191 
74L8192 
74L8193 
74L8194 
74LS195 
74L8196 
7418197 
74LS221 
74L824Q 
74LS241 
74U242 
74LS243 
74L3244 
74LI245 
74U247 
74L8248 
74U249 
74L8251 
74L8253 
74LI257 
74U25B 
74LS259 



48 74LS260 
48 74LS2II 



58 74LI273 1.45 



58 


74LS276 


330 


38 


74LS279 


46 


98 


74LS2S0 


1 95 


54 


74L8283 


68 


54 


74L1290 


88 


1 15 


7418293 


68 


2 45 


74LS285 


98 


130 


74LS29S 


88 


54 


74LS2II 


170 


54 


74L8323 


345 


85 


74LS324 


170 


58 


74LS352 


1.25 


68 


74LS353 


1.25 


64 


74L8363 


1.30 


58 


74LS364 


1 90 


66 


74LS365 


48 


64 


74L8366 


48 


68 


74LS367 


44 


64 


74LS3BI 


44 


88 


74LS373 


135 


94 


74LS374 


1 35 


190 


74U377 


1 35 



170 74L8378 1.13 



1.70 74LS378 

1.46 74LS305 

68 74LS3I6 

.54 74LS390 

.54 74LS393 

2.10 74L8395 

0.90 74LS399 

.80 74LS424 

88 74L8447 

.78 74L8490 

78 7 4L8624 

.68 74LS640 

.61 74L8645 

78 7 4L8668 

78 74LS669 

88 74L8670 

.94 74LS674 

.98 74LS682 

98 74L8683 

98 74LS684 

125 74L8685 

1.46 74LS668 

.74 7418689 

98 7416763 2395 

98 81L895 145 

58 81L166 146 

58 81L897 145 

58 81L898 145 

59 25LS2521 275 
270 25LS2569 420 



130 

1.85 

44 

1 15 

1 15 
1.15 
1.46 
2.90 

36 
190 
3.95 

2 15 
215 
1.65 
185 
1.45 
9 60 
315 
3.15 
315 
315 
2 35 
Ml 



CRT CONTROLLERS 

6845 11.95 

7220 38.95 

CRT 5027 18.95 

CRT 5037 28.95 

TMS 9918A 36.95 

HO 46505ip 11.95 



DISC CONTROLLERS 

1771 ........ 14.95 2797 54.95 

1791 21.95 6843 33.95 



1793 
1795 
1797 21.95 



25.95 8272 18.95 

21.95 UPD765 18.95 

MB8876 23.95 



2781 49.95 MB8877 25 95 

2793 46.95 1691 6.95 



2795 



54.95 2143 6.95 



1984 

- THE IC MASTER - 

Your ticket to fast and 
easy IC selections 



MA*^ 




$ 89. 95 



6500 



1 MHZ 

6502 4.90 



6504 
6505 
6507 
6520 
6522 
6532 
6545 
6551 



. 6.90 

. 8.90 

9.90 

. 4.30 

. 6.90 
. 9.90 
21.50 
10.85 



2 MHZ 
6502A 6.90 

5522 A 9 90 

6532A 10.95 

6545A 26.65 

6551 A 10.95 

3 MHZ 

65026 8 95 



6800 



68000 


. 45.95 


6860 


6.95 


6800 


2.75 


6662 . 


10.85 


6602 


7.90 


6675 . . 


6.90 


6608 


.... 12.90 


6680 . . 


2.20 


6809E 


.... 13.96 


6883 . 


21.95 


6806 


.... 10.95 


68047. . 


23.95 


6610 .... 


.... 2.90 


68488 


18.85 


6820 . 


... 4.30 






6821 ... 


.... 2.75 


1 


MHZ 


6828 . . 


. ...13.95 


68800 


8.85 


6840 .... 


...11.95 


68602. . 


2125 


6843 ... 


... 33.95 


68B09E 


28.95 


6844 


... 24.95 


GB809. . 


28.95 


6845 


.... 1 1.95 


68610. . 


6.80 


6647 .... 


.... 10.95 


66621.. 


6.80 


6650 


320 


68645. . 


18.85 


68U .... 


.... 4.95 


68B50. 


5.90 



MICROPROCESSORS 



8000 



6031 
B035 
B039 

INS-80 



5.75 
5.90 
5.75 
16.95 



INS-8073 45.95 

8080 3.90 

8085 4.75 

8085A-2 10.95 

8086 23.95 

8087 159.95 



8088 25.95 

8089 59.95 

8155 6.90 
8155-2 7.90 

8156 6.90 

8185 28.95 

8185-2 38.95 

8741 18.95 

6748 35.85 

8755 23.85 



8200 



8202 23.95 

8203 38.95 

8205 3.45 

8212 175 

8214 3.80 

8216 1.70 

8224 2.20 

8226 1.75 

8228 3.45 

8237 1B.35 

8237-5 . 20.95 

8238 4.45 

8243 3.95 

8250 9.95 

8251 4.45 

8253 6.90 

8253-5 7.90 

8255 4.45 



8255-5 520 

8257 7.80 

8257-5 8.90 

8259 6.85 

8259-5 7.45 

8271 75.00 

8272 38.95 

8274 29.95 

8275 26.85 

8279 8.90 

8279-5 9.00 

8282 645 

8283 6.45 

8284 4.95 

8286 6.45 

8287 6.45 

8288 24.00 

8289 13.95 

B292 16.95 



Z-80 



2.5 MHZ 

Z80-CPU 2.95 

Z80-CTC 2.95 

Z80-0ART 8.95 

Z80-DMA 11.95 

Z80-PI0 2.85 

Z80-SIO/0 10.95 

Z80-SI0/1 10.95 

280-810/2 10.95 

Z80-S10/9 10.95 

6.0 MHZ 
Z808-CPU 8.95 

ZB0B-CTC 8-95 

Z806-P10 8.95 

Z8QB-DAHT .... 12.95 



4.0 MHZ 

Z60A-CPU 3.95 

Z80A-CTC 3,95 

Z80A-DART 8.85 

Z80A-0MA .... B.95 

Z8OA-PI0 3.85 

Z80A-SIO/0 .... 11.85 
Z80A-SI0/1 ... 11.85 
Z80A-SIO/2 .... 11.85 
Z80A-SI0/8 ... 11.85 



ZILOG 



Z6I32 
Z8671 



3395 
36.95 



MEMORY 
EXPANSION KIT 




4164 200ns 
9 for $29.97 



Low Cost EPROfv 
- PROGRAMMER 



/ 



1899338 i 



The "Shooter" $395.' 

• 32 K bits upgradable to 12 8K mem oi 

• Built-in Serial RS 232 Port 

• Program A verify 2716 thru 2725 

• intelligent, fast programming 

• Up/download Hax, Binary, ASCII et< 

• Sarial RS-232 Interface compatlbl 



UV ERASERS 



QUV-T8/1 $49.9! 

ECONOMY Model 




• Erases 8 EPROMS in 20 minute 

• Plastic Enclosure 

QUV-T8/2T $97.51 

INDUSTRIAL Model 

• Tray Action, • UV Indicator 

• 80-minute adjustable timer 

• Steal enclosure • Safety swltc 
e Erase 15 EPROMS In 20 mlnutei 

QUV-T8/2N $68.9! 

(No Timer) 

LUV-1 $149.9! 

PRODUCTION Model 

QUV-T8/2 $124.9! 

FAST Industrial Model 

ST-8 $195.01 

8-Tray Storage Cabinet 



GANG PROGRAMMER 



GANGPRO-8" $995.' 




• High through-put 

e Reliable, user-friendly 

• Intelligent algorithm 

• Program and verify 27 16 thru 2725 
e Stand alone (RS-232 option $18* 

OTHER PRODUCTS 



PROMPRO-8 



$689. 

64K Verslo 
develop 



e Powerful E PROM Micro 

ment programmer 
e Keypad simulation 

• 256K memory buffer option avallabl 

PROMPRO-7 $489 

• 32K non-expandable unit 

• Built-in 8748, 874g programmin 

PALPRO-2 $1895. 

Stand-alone RS-232 Unit 

• Programs 20 and 24 series PAL 

PALPRO-1 $995/ 

Programs 20-pln PALa 

LOGICAL 
DEVICES, INC. 



QSBOflBA 






DIP SWITCHES 



fStt 



^%1 ^ 






'OSITION 79 

'OSITION 85 

•OSITIOK 85 

'OSITION 89 

•OSITIOK 89 



MBBON CABLE 






SINGLE COLOR 


COLOR CODED 


CONTACTS 


V 


10' 


V 


10" 


10 


.45 


4.30 


.78 


7.20 


16 


.50 


4.70 


.85 


8.70 


20 


.60 


560 


1.15 


10.90 


25 


.70 


6.50 


1.22 


11.50 


26 


.70 


6.50 


1.27 


11.50 


34 


.93 


8.50 


1.55 


14.40 


40 


1. 27 


II. 50 


1.82 


16.70 


50 


1.28 


12.00 


2.40 


21.90 



SOCKETS 



(1 to 99} 

SpiiST 12 

14 fh. ST 14 

16 phi ST 16 

1 8 pin ST 19 

20 pin ST 28 

22 pin ST 29 

24 phi ST 19 

28 pli ST 39 

40 phi ST 48 

ST = Soldertail 



8 pm WW 58 

14pl«WW 68 

16 pin WW 68 

18piiWW 96 

20 pii WW 1.04 

22 pin WW 1.34 

24 pin Ww 1.44 

28 pin WW 1.64 

40 pin WW 1.94 

WW as Wirewrap 



ZIF SOCKETS 




14 pin ZIF 5.45 

16 pin ZIF 5.45 

24 pli ZIF 7.45 

28 pin ZIF 8.45 

40 pin ZIF 10.45 

ZIF = TEXTOOL (Zero Insertion Force) 



VOLTAGE REGULATORS 



7805T 


74 


78M05C . . . 
7808T 


34 

74 


7812T 


74 


7815T 


74 


7824T 


74 


7806K 

7S12K 

7B16K 


... 1.34 
... 1.34 
... 1.34 


782411 

78L05 


... 1.34 
68 


78L12 


61 


78L16 68 


78H05K . . . 
7BH12K... 


... 9.90 
... 9.90 



7905T 


.... 84 


7908T 


.... .84 


7912T 


.... 84 


7915T 


94 


7924T 


84 


7905K 


... 1.44 


7B12K 


... 1.44 


7815K 


... 1.44 


7924K 


... 1.44 


79L06 


78 


78L12 


78 


7BL15 


78 


LM323K. . . . 


... 4.90 


UA78S40 


... 1.90 



C,T=TO-220 K=TO-3 
L = TO-92 



Dl P 


CONNECTORS 




DESCRIPTION 


NO. of CONTACTS 

ORDER BY 8 14 16 18 20 22 24 28 


40 


HIGH RELIABILITY 
TOOLED ST 
IC SOCKETS 


HRTnST .94 .94 .94 1.59 1.79 1.79 1.89 2.39 


2.89 


COMPONENT 

CARRIERS 
(DIP HEADERS) 


ICC xi .60 .70 .80 .95 1.15 1.15 1.25 1.40 


2.00 


RIBBON CABLE 
DIP PLUGS (IDC) 


IDFxx - 1.35 1.55 - - - 2.40 — 


4.05 


ORDER EXAMPLE: A 14-pin High Rel. ST socket would be HRT 14 ST 

D-SU B M I N I ATU R E 



DESCRIPTION ORDER BY 


9 


40. of 
15 


CON 
25 


TACTS 
37 


5 
50 


SOLDER MALE DPxxP 


1.98 


2.59 


2.40 


4.70 


5.96 


CUP FEMALE DBxxS 


2.56 


3.53 


3.15 


7.01 


9.14 


RT. ANGLE MALE DBxxPR 


1.55 


2.10 


2.90 


4.73 


— 


PC. SOLDER FEMALE DBxxSR 


2.08 


2.93 


4.32 


6.09 


— 


IDC MALE IDPxxP 


3.27 


4.60 


6.13 


9.12 


— 


IBBON CABLE FEMALE IDBxxS 


3.59 


5.03 


6.74 


9.98 


— 


unn „ BLACK HOOD-B 


— 


— 


1.15 


— 


— 


HOODS GREY HOOD 


1.50 


1.50 


1.15 


2.85 


3.40 



RDER EXAMPLE: A 5-pln Mala Soldar Cup would be MALE DP 25 P 



IDC CONN ECTORS 






DESCRIPTION ORDER BY 


10 


NO 
20 


. of C< 
26 


3NTAC 
34 


TS 
40 


50 


SOLDER HEADER IDHxxS 


.77 


1.19 


1.58 


2.10 


2.48 


3.14 


RT. ANGLE SOLDER HEADER IDHxxSR 


.80 


1 .25 


1.66 


2.21 


2.62 


3.29 


WW HEADER IDHxxW 


1.76 


2.88 


3.74 


4.40 


5.18 


6.53 


RT. ANGLE WW HEADER IDHxxWR 


1.95 


3.18 


4.12 


4.35 


4.70 


7.20 


RIBBON HEADER SOCKET IDSxx 


1.05 


1.76 


2.33 


3.05 


3.63 


4.55 


RIBBON HEADER IDMxx 


— 


5.40 


6.15 


6.90 


7.40 


8.40 


RIBBON ED6E CARD IDExx 


2.15 


2.26 


2.55 


3.15 


3.70 


4.64 



ORDER EXAMPLE: A 20-pin WW Header would be IDH 20 W. 



CRYSTALS 

1.0000 MHz 3.69 8.0000 KHz. 

1-8432 MHz 3.69 10.0000 M Hi 

2.0000 MHz 2.69 10.7316 MHz.. 

20972 MHz 2.69 12.0000 MHz. 

2.4576 iHz «■ 14.3182 MHz. 

3.2768 KHz 2.69 15 0000 MHz. 

""»■? "J 160000l.Hr 

4.0000 MHz 2.69 , 7 1 - nn HH . 

4H43 MHz 2.69 laOOOO MMz! 

49180 MHz 2.69 SSJE* 

5.0000 MHz 2.69 "J" Zu 

5.0688 MHz 2.69 J""!!?' 

5.1850 MHz 2.69 »■»•■ " Hl 

5.2428 MHz 2.68 22.1184 MHz.. 

5.7143 MHz 2.69 32.0000 MHz. . 

8.0000 MHz 2.89 36.0000 MHi . 

6.1440 MHz 2.89 48.0000 MHz. 

6.4000 MHz 2.88 49.4350 MHi . 

6.5S36 MHz 2.68 49.8900 MHz. . 

32.768 KHz 1.89 



.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.69 
.2.89 
269 
. 2.69 
.2.69 



CRYSTAL CLOCK 
OSCILLATORS 



PART HO. 

1.000 

1.843 

2.000 

4.000 

8.000 
10.000 
16.000 
16.432 
19.660 
20.000 
32.000 



FREQUENCY 

1.0000 MHz 

1.8432 MHz 

2.0000 MHz 

4.0000 MHz 

8.0000 MHz 

10.0000 MHz 

16.0000 MHz 

18.4320 MHz 

19.6608 MHz 

20.0000 MHz 

32.0000 MHz 



PRICE 
6.96 
6.69 
6.99 
6.99 
6.99 
6.99 
6.99 
6.98 
6.99 
6,99 
6.99 



EDGECARD 
CON ECTORS 



8-100 ST... 3.85 

S- 100 WW... 4.85 

72-pin ST. 6.65 

72-pin WW... 7.85 



50-pin ST 4,85 
44-pln ST . . . 2.85 
44-ilflWW... 4.85 



RESISTORS 

'A WATT 5% CARBON FILM 

ALL STANDARD VALUES 
FROM 1 OHM -10 MEG OHM 

50 PCS 1.25 

100 PCS 2.00 

1,000 PCS 15.00 



LED 



\ 



Jumbe RED 
Jumbo GREEN 
Jumbo YELLOW 



LAMPS 

1-99 100+ 

.08 
.14 
.14 



.09 

.16 
.16 



INTERFACE CHIPS 



8T26 . 
68T28 . 
8T95 . 
8T96 . 
8T97 . 



1.64 8T88 . . . 

1J4 DM6131 

.88 DP8304 . 

.88 0S8835 

.88 



.88 
2.90 
214 
1.94 

.88 



— TRANSISTORS - 



2N919... 

MFS918.. 

2N2102. . 

2M2218.. 

2N2218A. 

2N2219.. 

2N2219A. 

2N2222.. 

PN22Z2 

MPS2369. ...24 

2N2484... 14 

2 N 2905 

2N2907. 

FN2907. 

2N3055. 

30S5T . 

2*3393 



.49 
14 
.74 
.49 

..49 
.49 

.49 
14 
.09 



. .49 
. 14 
. 110 
. .78 
. .66 
. 19 



2N3414... 14 



2 N 3563. , .38 
2 K 3685 ... .38 
PN3565 14 
MPS 36 38 .24 
MPS3640. 14 
PH3643... 24 
PH3644... 14 
MM 3704... 14 
MP83706....14 
2H 3772.. 1.80 
2 N 3903. 
2 H 3904 
2H39Q8.. 
2H4122.. 
2H4123.. 
214249.. 
2N4304.. 
2N4401 



14 

.09 
.09 
14 
.24 
14 
.74 
14 



214402 


. 14 


2*4403, 


. 14 


2H4857.. 


. .99 


PH4916.. 


. 14 


2N5086. 


. 14 


PN5120.. 


. 14 


PN5138. 


. 14 


2H5209.. 


. 14 


2N6028 


. .34 


2N6043.. 


.1.70 


2N6045 


.1.70 


MPS-A05 


.14 


MPS-A06 . 


.14 


MPS-A55 . 


.14 


TIP28 . . . 


. .64 


TIP31 ... 


. .74 


TIP32 . . . 


. .78 



SAFT Power Products: 

STANDBY POWER 
— SUPPLIES — 



Protect your computer and its 
precious data from black-outs or 
brownouts. Turns on if the power 
goes off at the wall outlet! 

SPS02Q0VA/117V $499.00 

SPS0400VA/117V $699.00 

SURGE 
- SUPPRESSOR - 




STOPS lightening bolts or other 
high energy line surges from 
damaging your computer's sen- 
sitive components. 

SURGE SUPPRESSOR $1 49.00 

-EMI/RFI FILTER- I 




Eliminates line noise caused by | 
office equipment, printers, flour- 
escent lights, switches, etc. 

INTERFERENCE FILTER $49.95 

LINE 
-CONDITIONER- 

Isolation transformer is harmon- 
ic compensating to hold line volt- 
age steady, regulated; also sup- 
presses pulses and line noise. 

LINE CONDITIONER $395.00 



ORDER TOLL FREE 

(800) 
538-8800 

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS) 

(800) 
848-8008 



~ 



Microprocessor 

Software Development 

on VAX or PDP-11. 




You can develop software 
for Z80, 8080, 8085, NCS800, and 
8086 using native mode compilers and assemblers 

Use low-cost cross tools for other micropro- 
cessors. Interface in -circuit emulators perfectly You 
can run Intel development tools under ISIS or UDI. 

Our plug-in processor cards let vou run CP VI -80, 
CP/M-86, or MS-DOS from anv terminal on your 
VAX or PDP-11 system. 

Prices start at just $129?. Ask for our FREE 
catalog of 350 development and cross development 

tools. I 1 

/ 3375 Scott Blvd , Smtt- 236 

t= /__j Santa Clara, CA 95054 

®*cin»ittefli i**>™<» 

>rpuralK»n I. P M ■ Kft Dlpou! 



FREE SOFTWARE 

RENT 
FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN! 

User Group Software isn't copyrighted, so no fees 
to pay! 1000's of CP/M and IBM software 
programs in COM and source code to copy 
yourself 1 Games, business, utilities! All FREE! 

CP/M USERS GROUP LIBRARY 

Volumes 1-92, 46 disks rental -$45 

SIG/M USERS GROUP LIBRARY 

Volumes 1-90. 46 disks rental- $45 

Volumes 91-199, 55 disks rental -$65 

SPECIAL! Rent all SIG/M volumes for $99 

170 5% FORMATS AVAILABLE! 

IBM PC-SIG (PC-DOS) LIBRARY 

Volumes 1-230, 5Y." disks $250 

Public Domain User Group Catalog Disk $5 pp. 

(CP/M only) (payment in advance, please) 

Rental is for 7 days after receipt, 3 days grace to 

return. Use a credit card, no disk deposit. 

Shipping, handling & insurance- $7.50 per library. 

(619) 941-0925 information, 

(619) 727-1015 anytime order machine 

Have your credit card ready 1 

Public Domain Software Center 

1533 Avohilt Dr. 
Vista, CA 92083 



AM EX 




BASF 

FlexyDisks® 
5 1 /4" 




Specify soft, 

10 or 16 



Minimum Order 20 



Single side 
double density 



1.35. 



Double side 
double density 



1.55. 



In Usrvy boi only *d .1 & 
Certified Check - Money Order • Personal Check. Allow up 
to 2 weeks for personal checks to dear Add S3 00 per 100 
or part to each order for U.P.S. shipping charges. 
NJ Residents add 6% sales tax. 

178 Route 206 South, P.O. Box 993 

Department C 

Somerville, N.J. 08676 • (201) 874-5050 



Inquiry 360 



Inquiry 229 



Inquiry 82 



NEW! A full function 

RS-232 DATA GENERATOR 

for Only $199.95 



Tests printers, CRTs. Model 2320G 
modems. Outputs ASCII 
data in various combina- 
tions of line length, baud 
rate, parity, number of 
stop bits, word length. 
Uses 9- volt battery (op- 
tional AC power supply 
available @ $14.95). 
ORDER TODAY! Only 
$199.95. All cash orders 
postpaid (IL res. add 6% sales tax): we ac- 
cept MC. Visa. FREE: new illustrated catalog 
of RS-232 interface and testing equipment. 
Phone: (815J-434-0846 



electronics 



P.O. Box 1008B. OTTAWA. IL 61350 



DISK DRIVES 

Half Height 
IBM Compatible 

ONE YEAR 
WARRANTY 

40 tr. DS/DD $115.00 

80 tr. DS/DD $139.00 

1.2 meg. floppy $259 00 

Enclosures and mounting kits 
Special bracketed pair pricing 

IN * 2 DAY 
STOCK W SHIP 

# ALLIED MICRO DEVICES 

2809 Boardwalk, Ann Arbor, Ml 48104 

(313) 996-1282:TX 2907707 AMEL 

* Manufactured by SANYO 



*IBrvT Compatible 

f , =i i i c=n 

C J i i= Q 4i* 

E PROMS Call 1 Lowest Prices Anywhere 

M164-150/200 64K DRAM 2?5 

2764-250 575 

6116-LP3 499 

256K 2650 

TTL & HCT Parts - now avail Call 

8087-3-6 8900 

*TM-100-2 16995 

*Teac Half-Heights 16495 

*MPI DSDD 13995 

Excess Inventories Wanted 
Add $395 shipping to all orders • Prices subject to 
change • PO s on approval • C.O.D. OK • All new, no 
surplus, no seconds. QUANTITY DISCOUNTS. 
4920 Cypress St.. Ste. 100. Tampa, FL 33607 

In FL and lor info, call 813-875-0299 
FOR ORDERS ONLY, 800-237-8910 

TELEX 330690 



Inquiry 28 



Inquiry 1 6 



inquiry 247 



TAXPAK 



INTEGRATED TAX PROGRAM WITH: 


Forms 


Schedules 


1040 Tax Return 


A Itemized Deductions 


1040 A Short Form 


B Interests Dividends 


2106 Employee Bus Exp 


C Business Profit or Loss 


2ii9 Sale of Residence 


D Capital Gains 


2441 Child Care 


E Supplemental Income 


3468 Investment Credit 


G Income Averaging 


3903 Moving Expense 


SE Self Employment 


4562 Depreciation 


W Married Cpl Both Wort 


4684 Casualties & Thefts 




5696 Energy Credit 




Formats: 8" CPM2.2 


IBM 3740 IBM PC-DOS 



Suitable for multiple clients or evaluating alternate filing 
strategies Produces transcribeable IRS forms $33. 
For 1985 edition, return 1984 serialized disk and $27 

CANDELARIA WORKS 

3955 Club Dr Atlanta, GA 30319 

404/266-8759 

To order call toll-free 

800-621-5839 

Visa/MasterCard accepted 



Maxell Floppy Disks 

The Mini-Disks 
with maximum quality. 



m 






■■in 'ii 

Dealer inquiries 
invited CO.D's 
accepted. Call 
FREE (800) 235-4137 



PACIFIC EXCHANGES 

100 Foothill Blvd. San Luis 
San Luis Obispo. CA 93401 
In Cal. call (800) 592-5935 or 
(805)543-1037 



STD BUS 64K SINGLE BOARD 
COMPUTER/CONTROLLER 





iffii 


«x» 


jeli 


FEATURES 


•8085A CPU 


•Interfaces to CP/M 


•64K Dynamic RAM 


Computers for 


*4K Monitor EPROM 


Program Development 


with Disassembler 


•Automatic Baud Rate 


•256 Byte Static RAM 


*5 Interrupts 


•Parallel & Serial I/O 


•14 Bit Prog Counter/ 


-2 8 /Bit Prog Ports 


Timer 


-1 6/ Bit Prog Port 


•Memex Line for 


-RS232 Serial Port 


Memory Expansion to 


•6 144 MHz Crystal 


I00K 



STOCK. $295 Assembled & Tested, 

Single Quantity Visa, M.C., Amex & COD. 

AddS5.00S&H. 

STD Mother Card & Card Cage, STD Dual Channel 

Serial Card/ Protocol Converter & other Product Lines. 

Custom Designs & Development 

Our Specialty. 

SYNALTA SYSTEMS 

3 1-14 Broadway Astoria, NY 11106 
718/728-6700 



Inquiry 42 



Inquiry 244 



Inquiry 305 



5 

70 



DO 
< 



OKIDATA 
Prices Slashed 
*FREE IBM ROMS 

760 CPS, Correspondence Quality L ist JADE 

Okidata 92 parallel $599 $389.95* 

Okidata 93 parallel FREE tractor! 5995 $599.95* 



2K serial board 

IBM PC ROMS for 92 
IBM PC ROMS for 93 
Extra 82/93 Ribbon 
82/92 tractor 



.$120 
_ $59 
_ $69 
-$9,95 



120 CPS & 200 CPS OKI DAT AS 

Okidata 82 120 CPS 

Okidata 83 120 CPS 



Okidata 84 parallel 200 CPS 
Okidata 84 serial 200 CPS _ 

2K serial board _ 

IBM PC ROMS for 82/83 _ 
IBM PC ROMS for 84 



$99.95 
$49.95 
$59.95 
$4.95 
$54.95 

JADE 
$299.95 
$569.95* 
$799.95* 
$949.95 
$119.95 
$39.95 
$99 $89.95 



LIST 
^$499 
_$775 
.$1395 
. $1495 
_$750 
$49 



*FREE! Plug-n-Play option with 
purchase of 92, 93, or 84 



A-B PRINTER SWITCH 

Allows your computer to run either of two printers 
standard parallel switch box. list jade 

Printer switch - . . ___ $149 $89.95 

Extra Cable $40 $29.95 



The LITTLE BOARD with 
FREE! CP/M 2.2 

Minature single board CP M computer designed to 
mount directly on top of a 5 1 4 " floppy disk drive 
(7.75" x 5 75") Contains Z80A. CPU. 64K RAM. 
Boot Eprom. terminal port, modem port, parallel 
printer port, floppy disk controller, and CP/M 2.2 
included FREE 1 LIST jade 

Little Board with CP/M $400 $349.95 

Support package ________ $50 $48.95 

Serial cable $13 $11.95 

Diskless monitor Eprom $30 $24.95 

190K Disk drive $249 $99.95 

350K Disk drive $399 $149.95 



Continental U.S. 
800-421-5500 

Inside California 
800-262-1710 

For Technical Inquires 
or Customer Service call. 

213-973-7707 




p^SSS 



EPSON PRINTERS 

New Plus Series in Stock! 



EPSON RX-80 ___ 
EPSON RX-80F/T _ 
EPSON RX-100F/T 
EPSON JX-80F/T _ 
EPSON FX-80F/T _ 
EPSON FX-100F/T 
EPSON LQ-1500 



EPSON/COMREX 420 CPS 

2K Serial Board RX/FX 

FX-80 Tractor 

LQ-1500 Tractor 



LQ-1500 Sheet Feeder 



SAVE 
SAVE 
SAVE 
SAVE 
SAVE 
SAVE 
SAVE 
SAVE 
$149 
_ $59 
_ $89 
$499 



$80.00 

$100.00 

$250.00 

$200.00 

$200.00 

$300.00 

$300.00 

$500.00 

$99.95 

$39.95 

$49.95 

$399.95 



ijswsEsr' 

pfeis 

°°>k Diskettes as lo« as_ 




LETTER QUALITY 
PRINTERS ON SALE! 





LIST 


Diablo 630 40 CPS 


$2340 


Tractor for 630 


$250 


Starwriter F-10 40 CPS 


$1RQ5 


Starwriter F-10 55 CPS 


$1QQ5 


Tractor fr>r F-1fl 


$9fm 


New Comrex CR-IIE 


$599 


Trartnr fnr fTR-ll 


$19fi 


Keyboard for CR-II 


$1QQ 


Sheet feeder for CR-II 


$259 


Juki fimn 1B CPS 


$SM 


Trartnr fnr 6100 


$14Q 


NFC __0 M CPS 


$2250 


Tractor for 3550 


$265 



$1699.95 
$219.95 
$999.95 

$1199.95 
$199.95 
$439.95 
$99.95 
$179.95 
$199.95 
$449.95 
$124.95 

$1399.95 
$229.95 



TOSHIBA PI 351 

High speed & letter quality! 

High quality 24 pin head. 192 CPS draft mode, 96 
CPS letter quality. L IST JADE 

P1351 _. $1895 $1299.95 

Tractor $195 $174.95 

Sheet Feeder $1095 $899.95 



MANNESMAN-TALLY 
Spirit 80 Printer 

Hurry Limited Quantity! 



PRINTER ACCESSORIES 



IBM PC style cable 

Standard parallel cable 
Apple Card & cable __ 

RS-232 serial cable 

Ribbons 



Apple He cable . 



JADE 

$28.95 
$28.95 
$49.95 
$24.95 
AS LOW AS $4.99 
$39 $27.95 



_ $54 

_ $40 

$109 

_ $30 



MICR0FAZER BUFFERS 
Quadram 

Expandable to 64K (parallel model expands 
to 512K) 

8K parallel in parallel out 

32K parallel in parallel out 

128K parallel in, parallel out 

8K serial in parallel out 

32K serial in parallel out 

8K parallel in serial out .. 

32K parallel in serial out . 

8K serial in serial out 

32K serial in serial out 



MICR0BUFFER 
Practical Peripherals 

Stand alone Microbuffers list jade 

32K parallel in parallel out __„ $299 $229.95 

64K parallel in parallel out $349 $269.95 

32K serial in, serial out $299 $229.95 

64K serial in/serial out $349 $269.95 

64K add-on board $179 $149.95 



$169 


$139.95 


$225 


$164.95 


$445 


S269.95 


$199 


S169.95 


S260 


$199.95 


$199 


$169.95 


$260 


$1 9995 


$199 


$169.95 


$260 


$199.95 



We accept cash, checks, credit cards, or purchase orders from qualified firms and institutions. 
Minimum prepaid order $15.00 California residents add 6V 2 0/ o tax. Export customers outside the US or Canada please 
add 10% to all prices. Prices and availibility subject to change without notice. Shipping and handling charges 
via UPS Ground 50C/lb. UPS Air $1 .0071 b. minimum charge $3.00 



Computer Products 



Guaranteed service, support, and fast delivery on the name brands you desire and ... 

YOU'LL LOVE OUR PRICES 




20 MEGABYTE 
Tape Back-up System 

• IBM PC. XT AT compatible 

. Low-power, half-height tape drive 

. Uses standard data cassettes 

. Uniaue flexible software allows choice 

ottile-by-Ule or complete mirror-image 

back-up & retrieval 
. 6 different file selection parameters 
. Automatic error checking & correction 
. includes controller card & software 

[ 1ST JADE 

20 MB cassette back-up $995 |6|5.00 
45 MB %" tape back-up |JJ95 S895.00 
External 45 MB system S 1495 S109&.uu 



10 Megabyte Hard Disk 
for IBM PC S699.00 

Ptug-n-run. ready to go. complete with controller 
card, data cable, and mounting hardware, totally 
PC/XT compatible, faster than XT. handles 4 
different operating systems, streamer tape back-up 
available External model includes cabinet & power 
supply. 

10 mbyte internal 

10 mbyte external 

15 mbyte internal . 

15 mbyte external 

20 mbyte internal 

20 mbyte external 

33 mbyte internal 

33 external 



10 mbyte internal tape 
10 mbyte external tape 



LIST 

__ $1350 
_ $1585 
__ $1795 
_ $1895 
_ $1800 

$2060 

_. $3298 

. $3388 

_ $1000 

__ $1240 



JADE 

$699.95 
$849.95 
$899.95 
S 1099.95 
$995.95 
$1299.95 
S1849.95 
$1999.95 
$599.95 
$749.95 



KEYTR0NICS KEYBOARDS 



LIST 



JADE 



5150 
5151 

5152 



$209 $159.95 

.$299 $199.95 

$329 CALL 




MODEM PHONE 

► Speaker phone & direct connect 
' Auto answer, auto disconnect 

> 20 number x 18 digit memory 



Modem phone 300 
Modem phone 1200 




$149 
$499 ' 



$99.95 
$299.95 



0MNI-READER 
TEXT SCANNER 

For DATA ENTRY 

• Enters data at 160 cps 

• Sena! interface configured as a modem 

• 300, 600, 1200. 2400, 4800. 9600 baud 

SALE PRICED AT $479.95 



360K DISK DRIVES 
for IBM PC 

Double sided, double density 

Tandon 100-2 

Teac 55B _ .. 



360K Half height drive 



$159.00 each 

$129.00 each 

$99.00 each 



AST for IBM PC 

Six Pak plus OK _ 
Six Pak plus 64K 
Six Pak plus 256K 
Six Pak plus 384K 

Mega plus 64K 

Mega plus 256K 

Mega plus 512K _ 
I/O plus 
Graphpak 



LIST 

. N A 

. $395 

$695 

„^$945 

. . . $395 

_ $665 

$1095 

$165 

$790 



A I • 

$249.95 
$269.95 
$399.95 
$469.95 
$269.95 
$379.95 
$699.95 
$119.95 
$574.95 




IBM-AT Multi Function 
Expansion Board 

• Up to 3 Megabytes of RAM 
. Uses standard 64K or 256K chips 

• Has PAL for split addressing 
. Low power. IBM-AT high speed bus 
. One parallel & one serial port 

. Second serial port optiona^ ^ 

128K, 1 serial 1 parallel $495 $395.00 
Second serial port option $59 $49 



Expansion Boards 
for your IBM-AT 



Quadport-AT IS, IP 
4 Serial port kit 
Quadmeg-AT / MEG 
Quadmeg-AT 2 MEG 
Quadmeg-A4 4 MEG 
JADE AT-Expando plus 
AT-Memory Master plus 
AST Advantage-AT 
Bar Code Reader System 
128K Upgrade Kit 
20 Megabyte Hard disk 
30 Megabyte hard disk 

PERSYST BOARDS 

Mono display adapter 
Mono display adapter w parallel 
BoB Hi-res display adapter 
Time Spectrum SB 384 64K 



LIST 

. $154 

$195 

$2465 

$3995 

. $7490 

_ $495 

$495 

. $495 

. $895 

. $395 

SI 790 

$1999 



$139.95 

S1 79.95 

$1995.00 

$3195.00 

CALL 

$395.00 

$429.00 

$449.00 

S695.00 

$169.00 

$995.00 

$1495.00 



LIST 

$225 

S250 
$595 

S395 



JADI 
$189.95 
$1 99.95 
S469.95 
$299.95 



HIGH SPEED 8087 APU 

List Price S293 SALE PRICE $179.95 




2400 BAUD MODEM 

• O-300, 1200, 2400 baud 

• Beil 103, 113, 212A, CCITT V.22. V.22 

• Auto baud, rediai, and answer 

• 8 LED status indicators 

• Self test & speaker volume control 

• Looks like a Hayes smartmodem 

• 1200 baud & 1200B modems also avail 



Jade 1200 

Jade 1200BIBM PC 

Jade 2400 



$399 $249.95 
$299 $239.95 
S699 $449 95 



HAYES Smartmodem 

Sophisticated direct-connect auto-answer auto 

dial modem, touch tone or pulse dialing RS232C 

interface programmable list jade 

HAYES Smartmodem 2400 $895 $649.95 

HAYES Smartmodem 1200 $699 $459.95 

HAYES 1200B w/o Smartcom II _ S539 $359.95 

HAYES 1200B for IBM PC _ S599 $389.95 

HAYES Smartmodem 300 $289 $199.00 

HAYES Hayes Cronograph $249 $199.95 

HAYES Micromodem 100 $399 $299.95 

HAYES Micromodem lie _ $299 $239.95 

HAYES Smartmodem lie ..$399 $249 95 

HAYES PLEASE Software __ $395 $299.95 

HAYES Smartcom II $149 $99.95 



m 



New! from JADE 

IBM Multifunction Card 

Full one year warranty!!! 

Up to 384K. parallel printer port, RS-232 serial port. 
FREE serial cable, clock/calendar, RAM 
disk/spooler and diagnostic software package 

LIST JADE 

OK $349 $196.95 

64K , $449 $239.90 

256K . $549 $349.90 

384K $649 $439.90 



64K RAM Upgrade Kits 
for your (onQ| . 
IBM PC $23^5 



High speed RAM upgrade kit with FREE' parity 
(error detection) and one year warranty jade 
128K RAM Kit for AT _ $359 $169.95 

256K RAM Upgrade Kit .$495 $179.95 

The Best from EVEREX ,_ 



Giaphics Edge 
Graphics Pacer 
Ever Graphics _ 
Evercom Modem 
Magic card OK 
Magic card 384K 



$499 $389.95 

$489 $379.95 

$289 $249.95 

$359 $299.95 

$275 S1 99.95 

$799 $399.95 



QUADRAM for IBM PC 



Quadboard No RAM 

Quadboard 64K 

Quadboard 128K 

Quadboard 256K 

Quadboard 384K 

Quadlink 



Quad 512 plus 64K _ 
Quad 512 plus 256K 
Quad 512 plus 512K 
Quadcolor I _____ 
Quadcolor II ______ 



JADE 

_ $269 $234.95 

. $395 $275.95 

_. $495 S3 19.95 

_ $595 $399.95 

_ $795 $469.95 

_. $680 $449.95 

_ $325 $239.95 

_. $550 $359.95 

. $895 $549.95 

_ $295 $209.95 

$275 $199.95 

$1195 $995.00 

$1995 $1695.00 

$3495 $2995.00 

. $695 $599.00 

__ $499 $399.00 

Quadvue IS, IP, C, monochrome $345 $299.00 

Quad sprint doubler $645 $549.00 

576K Max PAQ w/64K $205 $189.00 

516K Max PAQ w/384K $595 $349.00 

Asher Voice & Data $695 $599.00 



MICROSOFT for IBM PC 



Quad 2 MEG W/512K _ 
Quad 2 MEG w/1 mbyte _ 
Quad 2 MEG w/2 mbyte 
Pallette Master 256 colors 
Quadgraph Graphics Card 



Mouse with Word 
Mouse ________ 



LIST JADE 
$495 $339.95 
$199 $129.95 



IBM PC 




S1595. 



® 
0PTI0N #1 



OPTION #2 



256K. 

two disk drives. 
Monochrome card, 
monitor, and printer port 



256K. 

two disk drives. 
disk controller. 
PGS color monitor, 
color graphics card. 
$1895. parallel port. 

Call us Toll Free! $2395. 

& our experts will custom build 

an IBM PC to satisfy your exact needs. 



256K. dual disk drives, and disk controller 

OPTION #3 

256K expandable to 640K. 

10 megabyte hard disk. 

parallel port. 

serial port. 

clock/calendar. 

RAM disk/spooler. 

color card 

Amdek 300G monitor 



$2995. 



IBM VIDEO BOARDS 

Hercules Color' 

Hercules Graphic 

Plantronics Color plus 

Quadcolor I 

Quadcolor II 

AST Monograph plus 

PC Peacock 

PC 384K Genie OK 

Paradise Graphics card 
Paradise Module A 

Paradise Module B _. 

Everex Graphics Edge _ 



LIST 
$245 
$499 
$549 
$295 

. $275 
$595 
$299 
$395 
$395 

. $95 
$275 
$599 



Hi-Res MONITORS 



Amdek 300G 
Amdek 300A 
Amdek 31 0A 

Amdek Color 300 

Amdek Color 500 

Amdek Color 600 
Amdek Color 700 
PGS MAX-12 
PGS HX-12 640x240 
PGS SR-12 720x480 
PGS Doubler board 
14 inch Quadchrome II 
Comrex CR6800 750x400 

Gorilla Green 

Gorilla Amber 



JADE Hi-res Amber 

JADE Hi-res Green 

JADE Color RGB 640x240 _ 
JADE Color RGB 720x480 



LIST 

$179 
$199 
$230 
$349 
$525 
$650 
$799 
$269 
$699 
$799 
$299 
$599 
. $649 
. $99 
.$119 
$199 
$199 
$699 
$799 



JADE 
$189.95 
S339.95 
$379.95 
$209.95 
S209.95 
$449.95 
$239.95 
$249.95 
$319.95 

$87.95 
$239.95 
$389.95 



$139.95 
$149.95 
$179.95 
$249.95 
$399.95 
$469.95 
$589.95 
$199.95 
$469.95 
$649.95 
$229.95 
$499.95 
$499.95 
$89.95 
$99.95 
$139.95 
S1 29.95 
$349.95 
$469.95 



SHUGARTSA801R 

SHUGART SA 801R SS/DD 

List $502 $359.00 ea 2 for $349.99 ea. 

SHUGART SA-851R DS/DD 

List $605 $459.00 ea 2 for $455.00 ea 



ULTRA-VIOLET 
EPR0M ERASERS 



Spectronics w/o timer 
Spectronics with timer 
Logical Devices 



LIST JADE 

_ $99 $69.95 

$139 $94.95 

■- $89 $49.95 



PRO MODEMS 
from Prometheus 

1200B for IBM PC 

1200B for IBM PC w/software 
1200 RS-232 stand alone 
1200A for Apple 
1200 Mac Pac tor Macintosh 



LIST JADE 



$375 
$399 
$494 
$449 
$495 



$249.95 
$299.95 
S369.95 
$329.95 
$389.95 



ISOBAR 

The ISOBAR looks hkeastandard mulhoutlet power 
strip but contains surge suppression circuitry and 
built-in noise filters, plus 15 amp circuit breaker 

LIST JADE 

4 receptacle $89 $59.95 

8 receptacle $99 $69.95 

UNINTERRUPTABLE POWER SUPPLY 

A must for every computer system 

425 Watt UPS $539 $469.95 



Bernoulli Boxes 
from IOMEGA 



5, 10 or 20 megabyte removeable cartridge mass 
storage system with flexability not available in 
hard disks 



5 mbyte system/Macintosh 

10 mbyte system/IBM 

20 mbyte system/IBM 

Extra 10 mbyte cartridge 



$1896 $1699.95 

$2695 $2099.95 

$3895 $3099.95 

$100 $79.95 



APPLE ACESS0RIES 



Full Height Disk Drive 
Half Height Disk Drive 

Controller 

CP/M 3.0 Card 

ALS Z Engine 

16K RAM Card 
Best 80 Column Card 
Printer Card & Cable 
Fan w/surge protect 
Koala Pad 
Grappler Plus 
Buffered Grappler/16K 
Disk Drive for Apple lie 
10 Meg Hard Disk 



LIST 
$299 
$249 
$100 
$399 
$299 
$99 
$219 

,$109 
$99 

.$125 
$175 
$245 

.$299 
$1495 



JADE 

$149.95 

$149.95 

$79.95 

$269.95 

$145.95 

$39.95 

$139.95 

$49.95 

$59.95 

$89.95 

$119.95 

$175.95 

$159.95 

$895.00 



Place Orders Toll Free! 

Continental U.S.A. Inside California 

(800) 42 1 -5500 (800) 262- 1710 



Los Angeles Area 
(213)973-7707 






Computer Products 

4901 West Rosecrans Ave. Hawthorne. California 90250 






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COMPUTERS 

SANYO 

MBC550 — Includes 128K Memory, 53* 
Disk Drive, Parallel Printer Port. CPU has 
RGB Color and Monochrome Composit Video. 
Software includes: Sanyo BASIC, Wordstar, 
Calcstab and Easy writer. Call for Price 



MBC555 



Call for Price 



Sanyo Monitors, Serial Cards, Upgrades 
Avail, from $av-On Call for Prices 

COMPAQ 

COMPAQ PLUS 2 Drives (1 Floppy & 

1 10 Meg] &256K . $3740 

DESK TOP Model 1 Call 

DESK TOP Model 2 For 

DESK TOP Model 3 Pricing 

CALL FOR PRICING ON APPLE, KAYPRO, 

TAVA, ZENITH, EPSON, NEC, COLUMBIA 

AND OTHER CPU's. 

WE CAN GET YOU THE LOWEST 

PRICE AROUND 



PRINTER INTERFACE 
and PERIPHERALS 

PRINTER CABLES 

ALL MAKES [6 foot long] S2C 

FOURTH DEMINSION 

PAR CARD & CABLE for Apple . . $4E 

ORANGE MICRO 

GRAPPLER + »11f 

GRAPPLER + W/16K ITS 

OKIDATA 

SERIAL INTERFACE $8S 

MICRO TEK 

DUMPLING GX S8E 

DUMPLING GX (Exp to 64K] 14! 

BAM 16 Cal 



Co 






»fi> 



***** 



PRINTERS 

STAR MICRONICS 

GEMINI 10X (120cps] 

OKIDATA 

82A (1 20cps par & ser ) 

92P[160cps] 

84P [200cps] 

EPSON 

RX80FT [120cps, Fric/Tractor) 
FX80(1B0cps] 

JUKI 

6100 [18cps & let. quality] 
6300 

BROTHER 

DYNAX 



MONITORS 

PRINCETON GRAPHICS 

HX12 (High Res, IBM Compatible) $459 

SR12 Call 

MAX12 185 

SCAN DOUBLER Call 

AMDEK 

300G 12" Green $126 

300A 12" Amber 135 

31 OA 12" Amber (Monochrome] 160 
COLOR I + (Color Composite] 299 

COLOR II + [RGB w/Cable] 409 

ZENITH 

ZVM122 12" Amber 

ZVM123 12" Green 

LEADING EDGE 

GORILLA 1 2" Green $89 

GORILLA 1 2" Amber ~ 



TAXAN 



Call, We Have 

The Lowest 

Priced Taxan 

Monitors In Town 



DISKETTES 

DYSAN 

5%" DS/DD[Boxof 10] 



MODEMS 



HAYES 



1200 External, PC Compatible . .469 

1200B Internal, PC Compatible 399 

MICRO MODEM He 239 

NOVATION 

ACCESS 123 Call 

J-CAT Call 

APPLE CAT Call 

ANCHOR 

MARK VII (300 Baud] $99 

MARK XII [1 200 Baud] 239 

MARK VI 69 

CALL FOR PRICING ON OTHER MODEMS 



The Sav-On Sytems 

THE PROFESSIONAL SYSTEM 



APPLE 



2 Drives, 80 Col Card, Apple Monitor 
Very Nicely Priced ^ ^- r ^ ^ - 

At A Very Very Low «P I C9« 



PORTABLE COMPUTER 

DATA GENERAL 



Small Enough to Fit In A Brief 
3 C Compatible 



Call 



COMPAQ 

2 Drives with 256K 

$2195.00 



APPLE ADD-ONS 



JOY STICK 
ELECT PORT 



MICROMAX 

VIEvVMAX 80 

VIEWMAX 80e . . . 

KENSINGTON 

SYSTEM SAVER . 
MORE AVAILABLE 



Call For 



CALL US WITH YOUR LOWEST 
ADVERTISED IBM PRICE ... WE 
WILL MATCH IT PLUS PAY SHIPPING 



IBM PRODUCTS 



IBM COMPUTERS 1 up 

IBM PC Bare Bone 64K w/Dr Cont $1179 

IBM PC 64K with 1 Drive 1299 

IBM PC 256K with 2 Drives 1549 

IBM PC XT 1 28K w/1 Drive & 1 0Mb . 3349 
IBM PC XT 256K with 2 Drives 3499 

IBM PC AT Enhansed, Base, Jr. ... Call 

IBM PORTABLE 256K with 2 Dr . . . Call For 

DRIVE CONTROLLER CARDS 

IBM Original [Controls 4 drives] . . .$139 

MAYNARD [Any Configuration) Call 

IBM Copy [1 20 Day Warranty] 119 

COMPATIBLE DRIVES FOR PC 

CDC [IBM Compatible] S159 

TANDON Full Height 320K 159 

MPI A2 [IBM Compatible] 119 

TALLGRASS HARD DISKS 

20Mbyte w/20Mb Back-up Call 

35Mbyte w/45Mb Back-up Call 

70Mbyte w/BOMb Back-up Call 

MAYNARD, ALPHA OMEGA, GENIE 
CALL FOR PRICING 



5 up 10 up 

$1165 $1150 

1285 1275 

1540 1520 

Call Call 

Call Call 

Call Call 

Low Price 



TEAC 

TEAC 55B [V* High Drive for PC] 

INTEL 

INTEL 8087-3 Math Coprocessor 



1 up 5 up 10 up 
$135 $130 $125 



$129 $125 $120 



MEMORY (NEC, Tl, Others) 100 up 1000 up 2000 up 
RAM CHIPS [All are 200nS or faster] $2.50 $2.25 $2.15 



IBM COMPATIBLE PRODUCTS 



Valentines Specials 

IBM PC SYSTEM 

w/2 Drives, 256K Memory 
Mono Monitor, Mono Card w/Print Port 
8087-3 Math Coprocessor & DOS 2.1 

$1899.00 
IBM PC 

With 1 Drive, 128K, Monitor 
Interface & Monitor 

$1599.00 
IBM PC SYSTEM 

256K, 2 V? High TEAC Drives, 10 Meg 
Hard Disk, Monitor & Interface 

S2499.00 



L.D.C. 

LOTUS 123 Low Low 

SYMPHONY Priced 

AST 

SIX PAC PLUS (1 Ser/1 Par Port, 

Clock w/0 memory] $239 

SIX PAC PLUS [1 Ser/1 Par Port, 

Clock & 64K exp. to 384K] 249 

SIX PAC PLUS [ 1 Ser/1 Par Port, 

Clock & 384K Memory] 409 

I/O PLUS [1 Ser & 1 Clock] 129 

I/O PLUS [1 Ser/ 1 Par & Clock] ... 165 

MEGA PLUS [B4K] 269 

MEGA PAC (1 28K] 269 

MEGA PAC [256K] 349 

OTHER AST BOARDS AVAILABLE 
CALL FOR PRICES 

QUADRAM 

COLOR 1 . . ...$199 

COLOR 2 Call 

QUADBOARDS Call 

HERCULES 

MONOCHROME [Hi Res Graph Card]$329 
COLOR CARD 199 

TECHMAR 

GRAPHICS MASTER [Runs Mono & 
Color, High Res in Both Modes . .9459 

STB 

GRAPHICS [PLUS] II Supports Both 
Color and Mono Display. You'll get 
50% faster flicker-free scrolling 
over IBM's color graphics board. 
Call for more information $339 

PC PEACOCK 

COLOR BOARD with Parallel Port. $209 

MEMORY UPGRADES 

4164 [9 Chips] $37 



PLANTRONICS 

COLOR PLUS 339 

OTHER BOARDS AVAILABLE 
CALL FOR LOWEST PRICES! 

KEYTRONICS 

,E= 1 Keyboard w/Sep Num. Pad . . .Call 

o i uO Keyboard Call 

EVEREX 

GRAPHICS EDGE $369 

VUTEK 

COLOR PLUS ...$239 

PERSYST BOARDS 

MONO DISPLAY $189 

MONO DISPLAY w/Parallel Port . . . .199 
BOB BOARD 479 



100% IBM PRODUCTS 


IBM CARDS 




MONO CARD w/Parallel Port] . . . 


$199 


COLOR CARD 


189 


IBM MONITORS 




MONOCHROME MONITOR 


.229 


COLOR MONITOR 

IBM 


Call 


IBM 

DOS 2.1 


$58 


DOS 3.0 


Call 


PRINTER PAR PORT 


74 


BM to PRINTER CABLE [6 foot] . 


$18 


IBM UPGRADES 




B4K 


$29 


1 28K 


59 



FINANCING AVAILABLE 

with Approved Credit 

We honor School, University and qualified 
business P.O.'s — also Accounts may be set 
up on credit approval — for more information 
call [213] 675-2381. 






•*& 



v**«* 






>J£*<W 






Customer Service (801) 972-2739 

Sales (Utah) (801) 972-2717 
Sales (Outside Utah) (800) 545-2633 



GSL 
COMPUTER 



Retail and Mail Orders 

1780 West 2300 South 

Salt Lake City, Utah 84119 

Prices subject to change without notice. 



IBM PC JR SYSTEMS 



PCjr-1 Enhanced Model $799 

Includes 128K RAM (expands to 51 2K) 1 ea 360K 

Floppy, 2 ea Cart Slots. New Kybd 
PCjr-2 Entry Model $499 

Includes 64K RAM (expands to 51 2K) 2 ea Cart 

Slots. New Kybd 
PCjr-3 All features of 
"Enhanced Model'' Plus S1239 

IBM Color Monitor 

Free Software includes Basic Cartridge Word 

Processor and DOS 2 1 
PCjr-4 All features of 
"Enhanced Model' Plus $1499 

IBM Color Monitor and Internal Modern Free 

Carrying Case and Software 



PCjr ACCESSORIES 



list our price 

Color Display $429 $365 

Printer Adapter $99 $87 

Compact Printer (Thermal) $175 $160 

Half Height 360K 

Disk Drive $480 $399 

Serial Adapter Cable $25 $23 

Color Display Cable $20 $18 

Keyboard Cord $20 $18 

TV Connector $30 $28 

Carrying Case $60 $55 

Game Control Adapter $45 $41 

Joystick $40 $36 

Hands on Basic $17 50 $16 

Basic Cartridge $75 $70 

Internal Modem $199 $175 

Mouse $195 $175 

Additional Memory $295 $250 

PC JR. MEMORY BOARDS 

Impulse 110 Jr. Memory Cards 

has 220K RAM expandable to 51 2K, Par port, clock, 
RAM disk & spooler 

with 64K $239 

with 1 28K $279 

with 256K $399 

with 512K $599 



DISK DRIVES 



CDC 9409 DS > DD 360 K 1 65 

MITM-4853 1/2 HGT 169 

SHUGART SA455L DS/DD 360K 

5" 1/2 HGT 155 

TANDON TM100-1A SS/DD 160K 

5" Full Size 150 

TANDON TM100-2A DS/DD 360K 

5" Full Size 155 

TANDON TM-101-4 Quad 720K 

5" Full Size 280 

TEACFD55B DS/DD 360K 

1/2H 135 

TEAC FD55F Quad 720K 

1 2 H 1 69 



DISK DRIVE CABINETS 



8 CABINETS 

III DTL-002 Holds 2 ea 

8 Thtnlme W/PS $169 

IIIFDE-002 2ea 8 Std Size 

Horizontally w/P S $189 

OTC DDC88V28 Holds 2 ea 8" Std 

Size/Vert w/P S $289 

SV*" CABINETS 

HD5-001 - w/PS for 2 Thinlme Hard Disk .. $189 
HD5-002 - w/P S for 2 Full Size Hard Disk 

or Tape Back-up $209 

JMR DDC5H w'PS Honz for 1 ea 

Std Size $55 

P C DDC5V w P S Vert for 1 ea 

Std Size $55 

P C DDC55V w P S Vert for 2 ea 

Std Size $85 

SLIMLINE 5 1 /4" CABINET 

JMR DDC55H 1 - 2 w P S Honz lor 2 ea 

1/2 HGT $75 

P C DDC55V 1 12 w/P S Vert for 2 ea 

Drives $75 



PRINTERS 





149 


159 


"4 


145 


140 


1 40 


130 


145 


140 


270 


260 


129 


119 


159 


-4 - 



Daisywriter 2000-48K Buffer. 20 to 

40 CPS Ltr Qua! $999 

Diablo 620 API (25CPS) $749 

Diablo 630 API (40CPS) $1549 

Diablo 630 ECS /IBM or API $1649 

Epson FX-80 (160 CPS - 10" - 

Graphtrax/ Tractor) $399 

Epson FX-100 (160 CPS - 15" - 

Graphtrax /Tractor) $649 

Juki 6100 (18 CPS - Diablo Compatible 

Daisy wheel) $419 

Juki $300 (40 CPS - 16" - 3K Buffer 

Upgrade to 1 5K) $799 

Okidata 82a (120CPS -10") $319 

Okidata 83a (120CPS - 15") $569 

Okidata 92a (160CPS - 10") $399 

Okidata 93a (160CPS - 15") $649 

Okidata 84p (200CPS - 15") $729 

Okidata 84S (200CPS - 15") . $849 

Okidata 2350P $1895 

Okidata 241 OP $1895 

Panasonic 1091 (120 CPS - Logic 

Seeking Head - Runs Faster than 

FX-80-Par Port - Double Strike 

Switch - with Tractor $299 

CJTOH 8510A Pro-Writer 1 or 

Image Writer $339 

Diablo D-25 (NEW)/25 CPS $595 

Epson JX-80/160 CPS/ 7 Color $579 

Epson LQ1 500/ Par/ Letter Quality $1249 

Panasonic KXP 1092 $449 

180CPS/33CPSCorres. 
Toshiba P-1 340/1 12 CPS/54CPS 

Letter Quality $695 

Toshiba P-1 351 

M92CPS/120CPS Ltn $1299 

Daisywriter 2000 B1-D1 Tractor $210 

Diablo 620 Tractor $189 

Diablo 630 Tractor $210 

Juki 6100 Tractor $139 

Juki 6100 Serial Interface $65 

Okidata 82/92 Tractor $60 

Okidata Serial Interface w/2K 

Buffer (92 & 93) $129 

Okidata Okigraph I $55 

Okidata Okigraph II $60 

Star Gemini 10X or 15X Serial Board 

w/4K Buffer $129 

Toshiba 1351 Tractor Feed $195 



PRINTER SWITCHER 



Allows you to switch 

from letter quality to Dot Matrix 

by flip of switch 

SCN-2/Two Position Centronics Par 

to Centronics Par $99 

SCN-4/Four Position Cen Par 

to Cen Par $139 

SRS-2/Two Position Serial to Serial $89 

SRS-4/Four Position Serial to Serial ...... $129 



CABLES 



IBM to Par Cable $22 

Centronics to Centronics $24 

RS232 Serial (Specify) $16 

Columbia to Par $28 

IBM Add-on Drive (DC37 Conn} $34 

Disk Drive Cable 5" or 8" $26 

Y-Sphtter Cable $7.95 



DISKETTES 



Lifetime Warranty 

5V* " SS/DD $13.75/10-100 tor $13.00 ea. 

5'/4" DS/DD (IBM) $24.00/10-100 for $18.00 ea. 

DISK STORAGE 

Flip ft' File 25 $9.95 



SYSTEMS 



Compaq Portable - 256K/2ea 360K F D $2295 

Compaq Desk Pro 2 

256K 2 ea 360K F D $2295 

Columbia 1600-1 $1995 



SANYO PRODUCTS 



MBC 555-2 - 128K RAM (Expands to 256K) 

2 ea DS/DD 1 /2 HGT Drive, Par port. 

Speaker and joystick port, Display. 

Keyboard & Following Software 

Wordstar Mailmerge 

Easywnter Spellstar 

Calcstar Infostar 

MS-DOS 2 11 $1089 

SANYO DRIVE UPGRADE 

Double Your Storage by Adding 

2 ea Teac FD55B with software 

for only $339 

Sanyo Serial Port $65 

128K Memory Expansion for Sanyo $69 

RGB Cable $19.95 

Copylink Software (US Digital 
for Modem) $89 

RGB MONITOR 

1 3" (460x240) $289 



APPLE PRODUCTS 



16K RAM Card $30 

Grappler $119 

Grappler - 16K $179 

ALS CPM 30 $199 

ALS Pnntermate $60 

ALS Z-Engine $139 

Viewmax 80 (2 or 2-) $149 

Viewmax 80E (w/64K) $139 

Micro-SC1 A2 Drive $189 

Micro-SC1 A2 Controller $69 

Apple 2C Drive Adapter $21 .95 

Apple 2C Serial Cable $21.95 

Apple 2C Par Interface . . . $89 



QTPRODUCTS/S-100 



QT8' MAINFRAME 

• Provision for any 2-8 drives (hard or (loppy) 
Desk Top Version 

QTC-MF • DD6 (6 Slot MB) $575 

OTC-MF • DD8 (8 Slot MB) $625 

QTC-MF • DD12 112 Slot MB) $675 

All mainframes have EMI filter. 2 AC outlets. 15 ea 
DB25 2ea 50 pin. 2 ea 34pm.1ea Centronic cutouts. 

power supply for 8 MF I-5V1 A/ - 5V5A/ ■ 8V14A/ 
•16V3A/'24V5A) 



CARD CAGES/MOTHERBOARDS 



*IEEE-696-No termination required 

w/card bare card 
Slots Bare Bd A T cage cage 

4 $20 15% 15% $20 

6 $25 15% 15% $22 

8 $30 15% 15% $31 

12 $35 15% 15% $41 

18 $50 15% 15% $50 

22 $65 15% — $75 

All card cages will accommodate a 4" fan 
Add $20 00 for 1 fan ■ Add $30 00 for 2 fans 



CLOCK/CALENDAR 



S-100«Time in hrs. mm, sec«AM/PM or Military 
Format»Date in Mo, Day, Yr , Day of Week & Leap 
Year recognitions hard interrups (1024 H/. 1 Hz 1 
min,1 hr)*On board battery (will last 14 mos w/no 
power on) 

QTC-CCS-BBIS-100) $45 

QTC-CCS-A(AT>for S-100 $110 



QT/COMPUTIME BOARD SET 



Best Bare Board Set Available 

OTC-SBC 2/4 CPU (SBC 880) 
OTC-EXP - III 256K (CT256) Memory bd / 
Expandable to 1 MG 
QTC-FDC 5/8 Floppy disk controller 

Bare Board Set $175 

1) Includes manuals & assembly instructions 
2} Parts available 3) Monitor & B10S available 



TOLL FREE 1-800-545-2633 



M 



9 YEARS IN COMPUTER MAIL ORDER 

GSL COMPUTER 
TOLL FREE 1 -800-545-2633 



IBM HARD DISK SYSTEMS 



All prices for MC, VISA, AMEX or Pre-pay customers only. Call for P.O. Prices 

Terms: 

We accept MC, Visa (3% handling charge on AMEX only), Wire transfer, and Purchase Orders from 

qualified firms. All returns without RMA are subject to 20% restocking charge. Utah residents pay 

5.75% sales tax. Call for freight charges. Prices subject to change and are in U.S. Currency only. 

MINIMUM ORDER «15.00 

UPS Red Label 1 day delivery UPS Surface Min. 3 to 10 day delivery 

UPS Blue Label 3 day delivery 



IBM SYSTEMS 



IBM PC-1 Includes 64K, RAM, 

1 ea. 360K FD, KB $1449 



IBM PC-2 64K RAM, 2 ea 
360KFD, KB 



$1599 



IBM PC-22 256K RAM, 2 ea 

360KFD, KB $1699 



MEMORY BOARDS 



AST 6 Pak+ w/64K (Expands to 384K) has Par, 

Serial, Clk. RAM Dtsk, Spooler $259 

AST 6 Pak+ w/384K Plus all 

above features $449 

P.C. WARE "256K RAM" w/0 RAM $119 

P.C. WARE '256K RAM" w/64K RAM $159 

"Quadboard 384" W/64K (Expands to 384K) 

has Par, Serial, Clk. RAM Disk, 

Spooler, Game Port $269 

"Quadboard 384" w/384K and all 

above features $459 



MONITORS 



IBM Color Display $569 

IBM Monochrome Monitor $249 



Amdek 300A $149 ea. 

Amdek 310A $169 ea. 



NEW — QUIMAX MONITORS 



Hi-Res, 14" Screen Tilt & Swivel 

DM14A (Amber) $169 

DM14G (Green) $149 

PX-IV(4) - Hi-Res RGBw/Switch 
to convert to green for Word Processing 

w/Tilt & Swivel Base $449 

(Better than Princeton HX-12) 



FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLERS 



FDC (Controls up to 4 ea. 5") $119 

Maynard "Sandstar" FDC . $219 

(5" or 8" w/Ability to add Par, Serial. 
Clock, Game Port or Hard Disk Modules) 



ALPHA-OMEGA HARD DISK 



TURBO 20 2QMG Hard Disk w/Cont $1795 

TURBO 10 10MG Hard Disk w/Cont $749 

TURBO 10T 10MG Hard Disk w/Controller 

and Tape Backup . $1495 

COGITO 1 0MG Hard Disk $539 

COGITO 2QMG Hard Disk $1199 



Customer Service (801) 972-2739 

Sales (Utah) (801) 972-2717 
Sales (Outside Utah) (800) 545-2633 



IBM PC-3 256K RAM, 2 ea 
360K FD, IBM Mono Display, 
IBM Mono Card, KB $2129 

IBM PC-33 256K RAM, 2 ea 360K FD, 
Color Bd. Monitor, KB $2049 

IBM PC-4 256K RAM, 2 ea 360K FD, 
Everex Graphics Edge, 
Quimax PX4, KB $2549 



MEMORY UPGRADES 



IBM UP-GRADE FOR PC 

INCLUDES 9 EA. 4164-200NS 

FOR EXPANSION ON ALL PRODUCTS 

WITH PARITY 

$25.00 5 OR MORE 



$28.00 PER SET 

IBM MEMORY UPGRADE FOR AT 

9 EA 4128-200 NS (256K) 

$229.00 
COMPAQ MEMORY (256K) UPGRADE 

9 ea 256K CHIP (200NS) 

$229.00 



PC POWER SUPPLIES 



HDPC-X Pwr - External Power Supply (130w) 

for Hard Disk Add-ons w/fan $159 

HDPC-t Pwr - Internal Power Supply 

(130w to Replace 63w) $169 

NOTE! "All hard disks above 10MB 
require 130w power supply" 



KEYBOARDS 



KB 5151 (Same as IBM Selectric) $199 

IBM Keyboard $119 



HARD DISK CONTROLLER 



Everex $319 

Int'l Instrumentation $329 

* Controls any Winchester Tech HD 

* 2-1 Interleave/3 times faster than XT 



INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTATION 



10, 1 5, 22 and 30 MG Hard Disk 
Subsystems 

Plug in controller and have instant Mass Storage' 

• 3 times faster than XT • Boot from hard disk 

• Fully PC or XT compatible 

Size Internal External 

10 MB $749 $889 

15 MB $989 $1089 

22 MB $1349 $1529 

33 MB $1769 $1889 

10 MG TAPE STREAMER 

• 10 MG Streamer Tape back-up • Back-up in 8 min. 

Internal Stream 1/2 HGT $899 

External Stream (w/ Power Supply 

and case) (1 /2 HGT) $995 

10.38 MG Tape Cartridge $29 



V^T^ 



The Great Salt Lake 

Computer Company, Inc. 



SEND FOR NEW CATALOG 



IBM XT 128K RAM, 10 MB 

Hard Disk, & Keybd $3495 

PC-10 256K RAM, 10MG H.D.. 1 ea 

360K FD and Keybd $2569 

PC-10/2 256K RAM, 10MG HD, 2 ea 1 /2 Hgt 

360K FD and Keybd $2769 

PC-10/2M 256K RAM, 10 MG HD, 2 ea 360K FD, 

Quimax DM1 4A, IBM Monocard, Keybd . . . $3149 



IBM-AT SYSTEMS 



3 TIMES SPEED OF XT 

IBM-AT (Base Model) includes 256K RAM. 

1.2 MB FD., Clk/Cal. 8 Slots, 

Keylock, KB $3900 

IBM-AT (Enhanced) includes 51 2K RAM. 

1.2 MB FD, 20 MB Fixed Drive. 

Ser/Par Port, 8 Slots, Keylock, KB $5700 

AT ADD-ON DRIVES 

20MG Hard Disk $1295 

30MG Hard Disk $1695 

1.2 MG F.D. w/Rails $329 

360K F.D. w/Rails $229 

AT ADD-ON MEMORY BOARD 

* STB "Rio Grande" w/ 1 28K $359 

Expands to 1.5MG 

Has Par/Ser/Optional Serial & GP 

* STB "Grand Byte" W/128K $299 

Expands to 2 MG 



MODEMS 



Anchor Mark XII - External-Direct Connect- 
Hayes Commands Includes Serial Cable- 
Auto Answer & Dial $239 

Hayes 1200 - External-Direct Connect $479 

Hayes 1200B - Internal for IBM 
with Software $399 

Popcorn X100 External 300/1200. Auto Answer/ 
Auto Dial (20% more features than 
Hayes 1200) ONLY $319 

Pro-Modem 1200 External-Direct Connect- 
w/Clock - Hayes Commands - 
Auto Answer and Dial $329 



VIDEO CARDS 



MONO CARDS 

IBM Monochrome w/Par Port $229 

HERCULES Graphics Card $329 

PERSYST Monochrome w/Par Port $199 

COLOR CARDS 

IBM Color Graphics $219 

AST Monograph w/Par. Ser, Clk CALL 

EVEREX "Graphics Edge" 

Runs Mono & RGB Color at same time (640X200) 

16 Color/Hi-Res Mono/Par Port 80x25 

or 1 32x44 $399 

HERCULES Color $199 

PARADISE "Multi-Display" w/Par $319 

Paradise "Modular Card" $345 

Modular A $88 

Modular B $240 

STB "Graphic's Plus 2" 

Composite, Mono, RGB/ 50% Faster Scroll /Flicker 

Free/(320x200) 16/(640x200) 4/(640x352) 

Mono $349 

TECMAR "Graphics Master" 

128K RAM/(640x400) 16/(720x480) 4 

RGB and Mono $499 



IBM MISCELLANEOUS 



IBM Memory Upgrade Kit (64K) $32 

P.C. Ware Serial Board $79 

P.C. Ware Par Board $75 

P.C. Ware Clock/Calendar $59 

Math Co-Processor - 8087 $149 

IBM DOS 2.1 $57 

IBM DOS 3 $60 

LOTUS 1 -2-3 $299 



Retail and Mail Orders 

1780 West 2300 South 

Salt Lake City, Utah 84119 

Prices subject to change without notice. 



IDEAL FOR OEM MANUFACTURERS, UNIVERSITIES, 
RESEARCH LABS ETC. 



THE ULTIMATE PC COMPATIBLE ENCLOSURE 



IDEAL FOR MEGA-BOARD' 1 XT OR ANY IBM-PC PC-XT 
COMPATIBLE BOARDS 



I 



OEM AND DEALER 
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE" 



EASY ACCESS!! 



FLIP-TOP-CASE" 
OPENS FOR EASY 
ACCESS TO INSIDE!! 



Bus Expansion Slot 



Allows External 
Access To PC Bus 



Blank Label Inset 
For Your Company Or 
University Name Here 




EXCLUSIVE 
FLIP-TOP-CASE™ 

Overcomes Problems 
With PC Case 



MOUNTS STANDARD 
POWER SUPPLY 



Mounts Standard 
Half or Full Height 

Floppy Disk 
or Hard Disk Drives 



Rugged Heavy Gauge Steel Construction 



ADVANCED KEYBOARD 



ONLY 

$9995 



COMPLETE 



Full PC Compatibility 




FEATURES: • Horizontal Return Key 
• Caps Lock and 
Num. Lock Indicators 



• Enter Key for Numeric Keypad 



ONLY 



$14995 



Fully Assembled and Tested with One Year 

Limited Warranty 



DISPLAY 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

CORPORATION 



4100 SPRING VALLEY ROAC 
SUITE 400 
DALLAS, TX 75234 
(214)991-1644 



TERMS: We accept cash, checks, money 
orders, or purchase orders from qualified 
firms and institutions. Prices and availability 
subject to change without notice. Shipping 
and handling charges via UPS ground 50C/I 
UPS air $1 .00/lb. Minimum charge $3.00 



*IBM and IBM PC are trademarks of International Business Machines 

458 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



©1984 Display Telecommunications Corporation 

Inquiry 94 




CHOICE OF MAJOR OEM MANUFACTURERS, UNIVERSITIES, 

RESEARCH LABS ETC A THOROUGHLY FIELD PROVEN DESIGN. 
i-«»o c s,. H|QH VQLUME PRODUCTION ENGINEERED. 



• FULL IBM PC-XT* COMPATIBILITY! 

• FULL MEGA-BYTE RAM CAPACITY 



ON MOTHERBOARD! 



THOUSANDS 

SOLD 
WORLD WIDE! 




DEALERS AND OEM MANUFACTURERS 
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE 



_C 



Standard Key- 
board Interface - 

(Full PC compatible) 



Eight Compatible 
I/O Interface 
Connectors 

{Full PC compatible) 
{compatible with all 
IBM-PC* plug-in cards) 



Special J1 
Interface 

(Allows horizontal mount- 
ing of compatible expan- 
sion cards for easy bus 
expansion and custom 
configuring) (Board has 
62 pin gold plated compat- 
ible connector) 




Hardware Reset 

(Overcomes reset flaw 
in PC) 



Power Connector 

(Full IBM* pinout 
compatible) 



8088 Processor 

(Same as PC) 



8087 Numeric 
Processor 

(Same as PC) 



Peripheral 
Support Circuits 

(Same as PC) 



Extended ROM 
Capability 

(Runs all compatible PC 
ROMS) (Jumper program- 
mable to accommodate all 
popular 8K, 16K, 32K and 
64K ROM chips and NEW 
EE ROMS! VPP power pin 
available for EP ROM 
burning!) (External 
VPP voltage required) 



Configuration 
Switches 

(Same as PC) 



Speaker/Audio 
Port 

(Same as PC) 



Wire Wrap Area 

To facilitate special custom 
applications! 



Full Mega-Byte Ram Capacity! 
On board! 

(With parity) 

□ 256K Bytes using 64K chips 

□ 1 Mega Bytes using 256K chips 



Mega-Board™ Evaluation Board Kit! 

(Blank board with full assembly 
instructions and parts list.) 



Includes highest quality PC board 
with gold plating, silk screen, 
solder mask 



Board Size 10.5 inch X 13.5 inch 



□ MEGA-BOARD™ - XT 

□ BARE BOARD KIT $ 99.95 

□ ASSEMBLED AND TESTED 

SOCKETKIT $199.95 

(LESS IC'S) (FULLY SOCKETED) 
D ASSEMBLED AND TESTED — 

COMPLETE $499.95 

(INCLUDES USERS MANUAL 
AND MEGA-BIOS ROM) 

□ USERS MANUAL WITH THEORY OF 

OPERATION, SCHEMATICS, BLOCK 

DIAGRAM, APPLICATION 

NOTES $ 19.95 

□ MEGA-BIOS™ ROM (2764) FULLY XT 

COMPATIBLE, MS-DOS, 

PC DOS $ 29.95 

□ HARD TO GET PARTS CALL 



FREE! Displaytel™ 

Exclusive. 

Our Commitment to 

Microcomputer 

Education! 



Intel 8088 
Data Book with each 
Mega-Board™ Order! 



ORDER NOW!!! Fast * friend| y service 



CALL 214-991-1644 




EURO 
CARD 



Immediate shipment! 
Most instock items shipped 
same or next day! 



1 Day money back guarantee 
if not completely satisfied! 



DISPLAY 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

CORPORATION 



4100 SPRING VALLEY ROAL" 
SUITE 400 
DALLAS, TX 75234 
(214)991-1644 



cept cash, checks, money 



firms and institutions. F 
subject to change with 
and handling charges y 



*IBM and IBM PC are trademarks of International Business Machines 

Inquiry 94 



©1984 Display Telecommunications Corporation 

FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 459 




California Digital 

17700 Figueroa Street m Carson, Calif ornia 90248 



SEC ROB. Jtkm ^ 

COLOR *259 



MONITOR 




The NEC JC-1401D is a 13 medium/high resolution RGB monitor 
suitable (or use with the Sanyo MBC-550/555 or the IBM/PC. The 
monitor features a resolution of 400 dots by 240 lines. Colors available 
are Red. Green, Blue, Yellow. Cyan. Magenta. Black and White 
These monitors are currently being used in applications far more 
critical than microcomputers 

The NEC monitor carries the Litton-Monroe label and was originally 
scheduled for use in their Office of the Future equipment A change 
in Monroe s marketing strategy has made these units excess inven- 
tory which were sold to California Digital We are offering these prime 
new RGB monitors at a fraction of their original cosl Sanyo com- 
patible NEC- 1401 /S. IBM/ PC Computer compatible NEC- 1401 PC 

MONITORS 



BMC 1 2A green phosphor 1 5 MHz composir vioeo 

BMC 1 2 nigh resolution 20MHz 

AmdeH 300G 12 green phosphor 

Amdefc 300A 12 amber phos . hi- resolution 

Amdefc 3tOA designed loi IBM PC amber 

Zenith ZVM 122 Amber Phosphor 12 40 80 column switch 

Zenith ZVM123 green phosphor 12 40* 80 column switch 



BMC-T2A 

BMC »2EN 

AMK-3O0G 

AMK-300A 

AMK-310A 

ZTH-122 

ZTH-Z123 

NEC &•: I 

NEC JB1280 

CON-BW9 



COLOR 

NEC JC 140 ID Medium H^h 13 RGB NEC-1401 X 
BMC AU9 1 9 1 U Color composn vKleo with sound 

BMC 9191 M RGB designed few use witn ihe IBMcomputef BMC-919IM 

NEC JC 1 203DM RGB color monnor NEC- 1 203 

NEC JO 21 5 cotof composit NECJC1215 

Zenith ZVM 1 3S RGB & composite suitable tor IBM PC ZTH-Z1 35 

Amdeh Color I 13 composit video AMK 100 

Amdeh Color II - . 13 RGB hi< resolution AMK -200 

Amoefc Color 111 - 13 RGB. medium resoluiiion AMK-300 

Princeton MX 12 RGB IBM PCcompaiibie PRN-HX12 

PRINTERS 



78 95 
1t9 00 
128 95 
138 95 

158 95 
89 95 
89 95 

159 00 
1t9 00 

59 00 



259 00 
238 95 
379 00 
699 00 
339 00 
.: r$M 
299 00 
419 95 
359 95 
. •- ■ 




MATRIX PRINTERS 



STR-G10X 

STR-G15X 

STH-DiQ 

VST-C80FT 

TOS-1351 

OKI-82A 

OKI-92A 

OKI-83A 

OKI-84A 

EPS-RX80 

EPS-FX80 

EPS FX100 

EPS-LO1500 

EPS-JX80 

ADX-9501B 

ADX-9620B 

PRO 851 OP 

PRO-2P 

DPSB600 

PTXP300 

PTX-P600 



259 00 
365 00 
399 00 
179 00 
1495 00 
329 00 
389.00 
559 00 
929.00 
259 00 
439 00 
629 00 
1179.00 
579 00 
1029 00 
1 129 00 
KM 00 
689 00 
6985 00 
3995 00 
5795 00 



Star Gemini 1 0X 1 20 chat - sec 
Stat Gemini- 15X. too char /sec if> paper 
Star Gemini Delia 10, 160 Char/ sec 
Star Coex SOFT friction & Iractor 
Toshiba P1 351 . 192 char/ sec teller quality 
Okidaia 82A senal & parallel 9' i paper 
Ohidaia 92A parallel interface 1 60 char/sec 
Okidata 63A & parallel 1 5 paper 
Oktdaia 84A& parallel 15 paper 
Epson RX-8010 120 Char/sec 
Epson FXB0. 10 160 char /sec with graphlrax 
EpSOnFXtOOIS 160 char /sec with graphlrax 
Epson LQl 500. 1 5 corespondence quality- 
Epson JX80 Color prmier 
Anadex 9501 B high speed with graphics 
Anadex 9620B 200 char/ sec par I & serial 
Prowriier 85 10 parallel 9'.' paper 
Prowniet II. parallel 15 paper graphics 
Dataproducts B-600-3. band punier 600 LPM 
Prmironix P3O0 high speed primer 300 lines per minute 
Prmironix P600 ultra high speed 600 lines per minute 

WORD PROCESSING PRINTERS 

NEC7710 55 char/ second, senal interlace NEC 7710 

NEC7730 55 char'sec. par I interlace NEC-7730 

NEC3550 popular prmier designed tor the IBM PC NEC-3550 

NEC2050 designed tor BM PC 20 char, sec par I NEC 2050 

Silver Reed EXP500. 14 char, sec par i interlace SRD EXPSOO 

Silver Reed EXP550 1 7 Char/ sec par I interlace SRD-EXP550 

Diablo 630 40 char/ sec senat DBL-630 
Diablo 620. proponional spacing, horz * veri tac 20 cps DBL-620 

Juki 6100 18 char /sec SPECIAL JUK-6100 

Brother HR1A senal interlace BTH HRlS 

SlarwnterF 10 senal. 40 Char/sec PRO-FlQS 

Slarwriler F 10 parallel 40 char sec PRO-F10P 

Comre*CR2 Sk butter proportional spacing, par I CRX-CR2P 

TERMINALS 

Freedom 1 00. split screen detatchable keyboard LlB-F 1 00 495 00 

Oume 1 02 green phosphor terminal OUM- 1 02 539 00 

Ampex Dialogue 125 green screen, APX-D1266 675 00 

Ampex Diaiouge 1 75 amber screen two page, lunc keys APX-D1 75A 719 00 

Wyse 50 14 green phosphor WYS-50 59500 

vVyse300. Eight color display split screen WYS-300 115900 

Zenith 29 terminal. VT 52 compatible ttetalch.tte keyboard ZTH-Z29 765 00 

Tetev>deo 910 Plus fitoc* mode TVI-910P 575 00 

Tetevideo 925. detalchabie keyboard 22 function keys TVI-925 759 00 

Televideo 950, graphic char spin screen. 22 tunc TVt-950 950 00 

Televideo 970. 14 green, 132 column, European TVl-970 1095 00 



1795 00 
1795 00 
1599 00 
995 00 
459 00 
659 00 
1765 00 
775 00 
429 00 
695 00 
1125 00 
1125 00 
495 00 




TELETYPE 



MODEL 40 




The Teletype peripherals are continuous heavy duty communi- 
cation equipment that have recently come off lease from a Cado 
Computer customer It is seldom that California Digital becomes 
involved in the marketing of USED products but we felt that 
these peripherals represented such an exceptional value that 
we had to offer this equipment to our customers. 
The full character chain printer is capable of printing text in 
excess of 300 lines per minute. This printer, long used in high 
speed mini-computer applications, will provide the small busi- 
ness user with good quality multi-part printouts at speeds that 
can not be attained by dot matrix printers. 
This unit also has a tour channel vertical forms feed controller 
that allows for quick change of various form lenghts. The Tele- 



type Model 40 printer has a proprietary serial Teletype SSI 
interface and DIP switches are provided for setting baud rates to 
9600 The printer requires special support software when con 
necting directly to a mainframe, call for technical support 
The Model 40 CRT terminal has a RS-232 and current loop 
serial interface as well as a printer port that supports the Model 
40 printer. This terminal features block mode, full screen editing 
as well as DC1 /DC3 select capabilities. 

All Teletype equipment is fully inspected by our engineering 
department before shipment These peripherals are shipped 
freight collect by truck. 

Teletype Printer $795 • Model 40 CRT Terminal $395 
O Both printer and terminal $1065 • 



The Eagle HE 2 Computer features a 1 2 non-glare green phosphor 
CRT. typewriter style keyboard with separate numeric cluster This 
unit provides two 51/4 drives tor a combined storage capacity of 760 
K Byte The computer contains a 4Mhz Z-80A. DMA disk interlace, 
two RS-232C serial ports. Centronics printer interface along with an 
auxiliary parallel port 

Software included consists of ULTRACALC eleclronic spread sheet. 
SPELLBINDER word processor. CBASIC2. CP.-M 2.2. and an e*clu 
sive Eagte menu driven utility package 

These units are all factory new and are being offered far below their 
suggested price of S2495 This is your opportunity to purchase a 
complete CP M system for only S895 



PROMETHEUS 

ProModem 1200 




The Prometheus Promodem 1 200 is best value that we have seen in a 
300/1200 baud modem. This Hayes compatible modem features 
completely unattended operation, auto answer/ auto dial and even 
includes redial number when busy Internal diagnostics makes the 
Promodem 1 200 an easy modem to install Help commands, real time 
clock and internal speaker add lo the ease ol use ot this unit 
An optional processor accessory allows baiiery back up. extra mem- 
ory space for stonng additional phone numbers, messages received, 
and can act as a transfer buffer when exchanging programs 
The Alphanumeric display option allows messages saved to be dis- 
played when they were received, diagnostic test results numbers in 
the directory, as well as modem status 



31900 
259 00 
75 00 
479 00 
429 00 
229 00 
279 00 
199 00 
339 00 
279 00 
229 00 
439 00 
389 00 
595 00 
169 00 
21900 
359 00 



CTS 2 12AH 1 200 baud auto d-al 

Signalman Mark 12. 1 200 baud. Hayes compaiiole 

Signalman Mark l direct connect with terminal cable 

Hayes Smart Modem 1200 baud auto answer auto dral 

Hayes 12006 for use with the IBM PC. 1200&aud 

Hayes Smanmodem 300 baud only, autoanswer autodial 

Hayes Mcromodem II 1 03 Apple direct connect 

Hayes Chronograph, rime & date 

Prometheus 1200 super features 

Prometheus 1200B irviernal PC 

Team 1 200 Hayes Compatible 

US Hobohcs 21 2A 300.1 200 oaud aula dial .answer 

U S Robotics Password 300 1 200 baud 

Pennl 300- 1200 industrial quality 

Universal Data 103LP. ime power answer 4 ongmate 

Universal Data 202 1200 baud, halt duplex only 

Universal Data 212LP. fufi 1200 baud duplex, line power 

Novation J Cat direct connect auto answer 



CTS-212AH 
SGLMK12 
SGL-MKt 
HYS212AD 
HYS 12008 
HYS-103AD 
HYSMM2 
HYSCHR232 
PflM .•■.-* 
PRWP12O06 
TEMSMI200 
USR212A 
USR-PW212 
PEN 12AD 
6 • -. .- 

JDS202LP 

U0S 2t2UP 

NOV-JCAT 



S oo 



OLYMPIA 

Computer Printer 
and Typewriter 




The Olympia Corporation has just released two new typewriters with built in Centronics 
printer interface These word processing printers are the ideal answer to your personal 
correspondence needs 

The Compact 2 prints at 14 characters per second and is priced ai S459 OLY-C2 The Orbit 
XP. pictured above, prints at 10 characters per second and is priced at only S339 OLY- 
XPt Both machines are equiped with 2 Kbyte printer buffers and a lift off correction key 




Return of a 

Smash Hit Sellout 

moon 
s tB9 



Compatible with most Radio Shack Color Computer software The world famous Dragon 
computer is now available in the United States Manufactured oy the Tano Corp under 
license of the British Broadcasting Company The Dragon comes complete with 64K Byte ot 
memory, serial modem port along with a Centronics printer interface This unique micro- 
computer features Motorola s advanced 6809E microprocessor and comes standard with 
Microsoft Color Basic, data base manager, and a complete word processing package The 
computer outputs color composite video along with R F video that allows the unit to be used 
in conjunction with any color television This is the Ideal low cost computer to be used with 
any dial up information system such as the Source. Western Union s EasyLmk or any other 
time share service 

Shugart r^ 

604 WINCHESTER/ 

These 6.7 Megabyte drives are new units recently re- 
leased by the Shugart division of Xerox 
The Shugart 604 is fully 506 industry compatible. Each drive is tested before 
Shipment and is supplied with a 90 day warranty. SHU-604 




TOLL FREE ORDER LINE 

(800)421-5041 



TECHNICAL & CALIFORNIA 

(213)217-0500 



EBRUARY 1985 * BY 



HOW TO 





Call for an IBM PC system custom enhanced to meet all your business needs. 



Printers: 

EPSOM JX-80 (160cps, 10\ 8 colors) BEST PRICE 

EPSON FX-80 (160cps. 10") $425 

EPSON FX-100 i160cps. 15") $625 

EPSON FX-100 I (160cps, 15", near LQ). $625 

EPSON RX-80 (lOOcps, 10") $245 

EPSON RX-80FT PLUS dOOcps. 10" wplatten. 

nearLQ) $295 

EPSON RX-100 dOOcps. 15" while they last) $425 

EPSON LQ 1500 (LQ dot matrix w oar. interface) CALL 

OKIDATA ML92 (160cps 10' ) $425 

OKIDATA ML93<T60cps 15 j $625 

OKIDATA ML84 (200cps. 15") $725 

OKIDATA PACEMARK 2410 <350cps. 15") $1995 

GEMINI 10X (120cps 10") $275 

GEMINI 15X <120cps. 15") $395 

DATAPRODUCTS 8010 (180cps. dot matrix. 10). CALL 

DATAPRODUCTS 8020 (180cps dot matrix. 15") CALL 

DATAPRODUCTS 8050 |200cps. dot matrix, 15") CALL 

DATAPRODUCTS 8070 (400cps. dot matrix, 15". LQ) CALL 
FLORIDA DATA PRINTERS (High speed, durable) CALL 

TOSHIBA P1340 {LQ dot matrix. 10") $745 

TOSHIBA P1351 (LQ dot matrix. 15" ) . $1295 

Tl-855 (LQ dot matrix wfont cart) PRICE REDUCTION 

DIABLO 630API (40cps LQ) $1595 

DIABLO 630ECS (192 chars on wheel) $1995 

NEC 2050 (Durable, low cost LQ) BEST PRICE 

NEC 3550 (33cpsLQ) NEWLOWPRICE 

NEC 7730 <55cps LQ) NEWLOWPRICE 

NEC 8850 (Fast LQ from the people setting standards) CALL 

C ITOH A10 (New letter quality) CALL 

C ITOH STARWRITER (40cps LQ) $1025 

C ITOH PRINTMASTER (55cps LQ) $1325 

QUME LETTER PRO 20 (New nice) CALL 

QUME SPRINT 1140 (40cps LQ) CALL 

QUME SPRINT 1155 (55cps LQ) CALL 

BROTHER HR-15 (13cps LQ. 10") $395 

BROTHER HR-25 (23cps LQ. 15") $675 

BROTHER HR-35 (32cps LQ. 15 j $895 

COMREX. DYNAX PRINTERS CALL 

CALL FOR ADD-ON TRACTORS & CUT SHEET FEEDERS 



IBM PCs 

IBM PC W/256K, 2 360K drives, controller. 
Monochrome/ Printer adapter. Amdek 310A $2195 

IBM PC w 256K. 2 360K drrves. controHer. 
Color/Graphics adapter, HX-12 color monrtor 



$2495 

IBM PC W/256K. 2 Vi ht 360K drives. 

controller. 10MB hard disk w/auto boot $2796 

(These systems are brand new. fully tested and burned in, 
fully warranteed for 90 days AND ARE ALWAYS IN 
STOCK!) 



Miscellaneous: 

POLAROID PALETTE 

(Makes hi res slides from PC's) . . BEST PRICE 
ORCHID PC TURBO {80186 coprocessor-runs at 8MHz) CALL 
KEYTRONIC 5151 KEYBOARD (Sep. cursor keys) $199 
MOUSE SYSTEMS (Optical mouse, runs LOTUS) $139 
MICROSOFT SERIAL OR BUS MOUSE (wsoftware) . $139 
ISOBAR SURGE PROTECTORS (4 & 8 plug) $49 $69 

POWER BACK-UP (200 & 425 watts) $269/$499 

MICROFAZER (8-128K print buffer) from $139 

ASHER by QUADRAM (Electronic tickler, more) . . . . CALL 
SANTA CLARA PC TERMINAL (Smart terminals plus) . CALL 

Diskettes: 

VERBATIM: 

SSDDBox $24- Case $199 

DSDDBox $29-Case $249 

FOR DYSAN, MAXELL, 3M CALL 

Floppy Disk Drives: 

TANDON TM 100-2 $179 

SHUGART SA 455-2 $149 

PORTABLE HALF HEIGHTS $159 

CDC FULL HEIGHTS $169 

Multifunction Boards: 

QUADMEG (at memory up to 4MB RAM) CALL 

QUADB0ARD(64K-384K.S,RG,C/C,bracket) $269/459 

QUADPORT (Senal & parallel w/option of 4 

more serial) CALL 

AST ADVANTAGE (ups ATs RAM to 3MB w/port) CALL 

AST 6-PAK <64-384K,S,RC/C.opt G) $269/459 

AST MEGAPLUS {64-51 2KVS.&C. opt S.RG.K) from $269 

AST I/O PLUS (S.C/C.opt S.P.G) from $139 

ORCHID BLOSSOM (64 384KS PC C opt PC Net) $249 

TECMAR CAPTAIN (64-384K.S.P.C/C) from $259 

BABY BLUE II (64-256K.Z80B.2S.P.C/C). . from $429 
PERSYST Time Spectrum (64-384K.S. 

P.c/c, 2 yr. wily) ■ $279 

NEW PROFIT RAM ELITE & PLUS (64-512K.2S or 

S&PC/C) CALL 

MAYNARD SANDSTAR MODULAR BOARDS . . • CALL 




Plotters: 

HP7470 & 7475 PLOTTERS CALL 

HOUSTON INSTRUMENTS (Full Line) CALL 

AMDEK AMPLOT II (8 Pen. does overlays) $499 

Emulation Boards: 

IRMA BY DCA (3278 Terminal Emulation) $895 

IRMALINE (3278 RJE) CALL 

IRMALETTE (Use with Irmaline) CALL 

IRMAPRINT (3287 emulation) CALL 

IRMACOM (3274, 3276 Controller, 

3770, 2780, 3780 RJE) CALL 

FORTE DATA SYSTEM CALL 

TECHLAND BLUE LYNX 3270 & 5251 CALL 

AST PCOX, SNA, BSC. 3780. 5251 CALL 

Monitors: 

AMDEK COLOR 710(No glare, no flicker ultra 

hi.'res) $579 

AMDEK COLOR 700 (New ultra hi/res RGB) $475 

AMDEK COLOR 600 (New hi. res RGB w/audto) $429 

AMDEK 300 A and G (Amber or green) $149 $139 

AMDEK COLOR 500. 400, 300 (New hi/res RGB) . CALL 

AMDEK 310A (Amber, dark non-glare tube) $169 

PGS SR-12 (690x480 non-interlaced) $599 

PGS HX-12 690x480 interlaced) $469 

PGS MAX-12 (720x350 mono) CALL 

KIMTRON TERMINALS BEST PRICE 

WYSE 50,75,100 TERMINALS (Progam fund, keys) CALL 
TAXAN, NEC, ZENITH MONITORS CALL 

Hard Disk Drives: 

PEACHTREE PERIPHERALS 10MB internal & external $895 

PEACHTREE PERIPHERALS P-30 AT & P-50 AT CALL 

EVEREX 10MB internal CALL 

MAYNARD 10MB internal CALL 

MAYNARD 30MB internal $2195 

MAYNARD MAYNSTREAM (Portable tape back-up) ... CALL 

MITSUBISHI (10MB & 25MB w.tape) CALL 

SYSGEN 10MB HARD DISK (w/tape back up) $2395 

SYSGEN 20MB HARD DISK (w tape back up) $2895 

SYSGEN IMAGE 10 minute XT tape back up $796 

CALL FOR TECMAR, DAVONG, AND TALLGRASS PRICES 



DISKS 

INTERNAL/LOW POWER 
EXTERNAL/MASS STORAGE 
ARCHIVE TAPE BACK-UP 
REMOVABLE MEDIA 



462 BYTE • FEBRUARY I985 



Inquiry 258 



BUDGET HERO 




Call for an IBM PC system custom enhanced to meet all your business needs. 



Chips: 

64K RAM UPGRADE (Set of 9) $39 

128K RAM {AT Upgrade) BEST PRICE 

256K RAM BEST PRICE 

8087-3 (High Speed Math) 5169 

80287 (AT High Speed Math) CALL 

WE ARE CHIP BROKERS, ASK FOR QUANTITY PRICES 

Modems: 

HAYES 300 baud external $209 

HAYES 1200 (300 or 1200 baud ext) $469 

HAYES 1200B (300 or 1200 baud int w/soft) $399 

HAYES 2400 (New external, twice the speed!). . . . CALL 

HAYES Compatibles CALL 

SIGNALMAN MARK 12 (1200 baud at 300 price) . . $259 

VENTEL HALF CARDw Crosstalk $429 

BIZCOMP INTELLIMODEMS BEST PRICE 

Display Cards: 

EVEREX GRAPHIC EDGE 

(Simultaneous color & mono, w ports) $399 

TSENG UltraPAK (132 mono 

S, P. C'C. opt RAM, FDC. color) $439 

PARADISE MODULAR GRAPHICS CARD (Color 
graphics in mono with mod ports options!) . from S339 
PERSYST BoB (clear text on a color monitor) CALL 

STB GRAPHIX PLUS II (Mono, color, par) $369 

PROFIT MULTIGRAPH (Mono, color, opt par). . . $369 
TECMAR GRAPHICS MASTER (640x400 - mono) S489 
QUAD COLOR I (Upgrades to hires w Quadcolorll) $199 
HERCULES COLOR CARD (New from old faithful) $179 
AST MonoGraphPlus 

(LOTUS mono, serial, par. clock) $399 

PLANTRONICS Colorplus (Hi res w color magic) $379 
IBM PC Enhanced Graphics Adapter CALL 



Software: 

SYMPHONY (New from LOTUS) BEST PRICE-CALL 
FRAMEWORK (New from ASHTON-TATE) . . BEST PRICE 
MULTIMATE (Emulates WANG dedicated WP) $279 

SAMNA WORD III ( Ultra-WANG ) $295 

WORDSTAR PRO-PAK (WS/CS MM/SI/Tutor) $279 

MICROSOFT WORD w/MOUSE 

(4th generation WP) $289 

VOLKSWRITER DELUXE w/Textmerge $179 

BANK STREET WRITER $59 

EASYWRITER II SYSTEM (-writer, -speller.-mailer) CALL 
SUPERCALC 3 (Better graphs than LOTUS) BEST PRICE 
PFS Write, File and Graph . . . each $99.Report ... $79 

OPEN ACCESS (Proven Integrated Package) CALL 

dBASE II & III (From Ashton-Tate) $299/$375 

KNOWLEDGEMAN (Version 1 .06) $299 

RBASE 4000 & 6000 (Use w clout, report writer) CALL 

POWER BASE (Relational, hierarchical) $279 

CIP (New and fantastic!) . . CALL 

DAYFLOW (Enhance with REPORTFLO) CALL 

02 (from Fox & Geller) CALL 

NUTSHELL by Leading Edge CALL 

LIFEBOAT LATTICE C COMPILER (w/8087 support) $289 

LIFEBOAT LATTICE C-FOOD SMORGASBORG CALL 

MICROSOFT CBASIC.FORTRAN, PASCAL, COBOL . CALL 

BORLAND TURBO PASCAL & TOOLBOX CALL 

DIGITAL RESEARCH (All products) CALL 

DOW JONES (All products) CALL 

IUS A/R, A/P, G/L $299 

OPEN SYSTEMS ACCOUNTING MODULES BEST PRICE 

REAL WORLD ACCOUNTING CALL 

STATE OF THE ART (G L.A/R,A/P,INV,PR) BEST PRICE 
BP1 GENERAL ACCOUNTING AND MODULES ... CALL 

DOLLARS AND SENSE by Monogram $119 

MANAGING YOUR MONEY by Tobias Meca $129 

HARVARD PROJECT MANAGER BEST PRICE 

HOWARDSOFT TAX PREPARER BEST PRICE 

MICROTAX CALL FOR PRICE 

DECISION RESOURCES CHART MASTER $249 

DECISION RESOURCES SIGN MASTER $179 

BPS BUSINESS GRAPHICS $259 

Z-SOFT PC PAINTBRUSH w/FRIEZE GRAPHICS.. . . $99 



PROKEY VERSION 3.0 by Rosesoft $95 

SET-FX for your EPSON $45 

NORTON UTILITIES $55 

COPY II PC by CENTRAL POINT $35 

COPYWRITE by Quaid (Copies all IBM software) ... $45 

COMPUSERVE STARTER KIT $35 

SIDEWAYS by FUNK SOFTWARE $49 

CROSSTALK XVI by MICROSOFT $109 

HAYES SMART COM II $95 

TRACE 86 by Morgan (Assembly language debug) CALL 
FLIGHT SIMULATOR $39 

PROGRESSIVE 

MICRO 
DISTRIBUTORS 

FOR ORDERS ONLY 

1-800-446-7995 

for further information and technical support 

1-404-446-7995 

HOURS: 9AM to 9PM EST 
(Sat/Sun-12PM to 5PM EST) 

7000 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard 
Norcross, Georgia 30071 

All prices are subiect to change 

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines. 

NO SURCHARGE FOR MC VISA 



NETWORKS 

FOR YOUR 

IBM PC 

SHARE FILES 

SHARE DEVICES 

WE CARRY THE BEST 



COMMUNICATE 

WITH YOUR CORPORATE 

MAINFRAME 

• DOWNLOAD DATA 

• TERMINAL EMULATION 

CALL FOR DETAILS 



CHIPS 

64K • 256K • 
8087 • 80287 

MEMORY UPGRADES 

QUANTITY DISCOUNTS 

SOUTHS LARGEST SUPPLY 



Inquiry 258 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 463 



DISK DRIVES 



Teac 55B 

• Slimline, 360K 

• PC Compatible 

AS LOW AS $1 1 9 63. 



8" Siemens 

• FDD100-8 
• Shugart Compatible 

AS LOW AS $111 63. 



MPI B52 

• IBM Compatible 

• 360K Full Height 

AS LOW AS $90 63. 



ecu Apple Drives 

• Slimline 
• Fully Apple Compatible 

as low as $1 40 ea. 



Computer 



Components 

Unlimited 



>ie Compatible Drives 



OUANTITY 

1 2 10 
Micro Sci 

A-2 or A-20 Full HT S175 $169 $159 

Controller 65 60 50 

Rana Systems 

Elitel $210 $205 $200 

Elite II, Dbl. Head . 335 330 325 

Elite ill, Quad Density 395 445 435 

ControlierControls4Drives 75 70 70 

CCU Half Height 

FD525A Slimline w/cable $150 $145 $140 

ecu Full Height 

FD555Aw/cable $160 $150 $140 

Hard Disk 

10 Meg w/ controller Call Call Call 



CCU 

YOUR LARGEST 

DISK DRIVE 

SUPPLIER 



5%" Disk Drives 



QUANTITY 

1 2 10 
Teac 

FD55A, 160K $160 $150 $140 

FD55B.360K 129 125 119 

FD55F, Quad Density 159 150 140 

All Teacs are Half Heights 

Tandon 

TM100-1.160K $150 $140 $130 

TM100-2,360K 139 137 135 

TM101-4, Quad Density 280 270 260 

TM55-2,360KV2 Height 195 190 185 

MPI 

B-52,36QK PC Compatible $100 $ 95 $ 90 

Shugart 

$A400,160K $190 $180 $170 

SA455,360KV2 Height 150 140 130 

SA465, Quad Den. %2 Height 230 220 210 

Mitsubishi 

4851. 1 /2 Height $159 $149 $139 

4853, Quad Den. v 2 Height 169 159 140 

Control Data Corp. 

CDC 9409. 360K $190 $180 $170 



8" Disk Drives 





QUANTITY 

1 2 10 


Siemens 






FDD-100-8 


$129 
180 


$120 $111 


FDD- 200-8 


170 160 


Shugart 

801R,Sgl./Dbl 

851R,Dbl./Dbl 


$160 
480 


$150 $140 
470 460 


Tandon 






TM848-1E,Sgl./Dbl. 1 /2Ht 

TM848-2E,Dbl./Dbl.V2Ht 


$240 
370 


$230 $220 
360 350 


Mitsubishi 




M2894-63,Dbl./Dbl 

M2896-63,Dbl./Dbl. 1 /2Ht 


$400 
400 


$390 $380 
390 380 


5 1 /4" & 8 


r 




Power Supply & cabinets 




OUANTITY 

1 2 10 


JMR 5V4" 






SingleCabinetw/pwr 

DualThinlineCabw/pwr 

Dual Cabinet & Power 


$ 70 

80 
80 


$ 60 $ 50 
70 60 
70 60 


All nave 6 month warranty 




JMR 8 






Sgl.Cabinetw/pwr&fan 
Dual w/ pwr for 2 thinlines 
Dual w/pwr& fan 


$220 
230 
270 


$210 $200 
220 210 
260 250 



Computer 
Components 
Unlimited 



no Surcharge for Credit Cards 

All Prices Reflect a Cash, 

Pre-Paid Discount 



Customer Service & Technical 
(213)618-0487 

sales Desk 

(800)847-1718 

Outside California 

(213)618-0477 



A California Corporation 



PRINTERS 



Brother 

• HR-15XL 
• 17CPS 

$399 



Okidata 93P 

• 15 "Carriage 
• 160 cps w/correspondence 



$589 



C. Itoh F-10 

• 40 cps 
• Letter Quality 

$929 



Epson 

• FX80 + 

• 160 CPS 
New version 



Call for Lowest Quote 



CALL (800) 847-1718 



PRINTERS 



Epson 

RX-80(120cps> Save 

RX-80FT At Least 

RX-100+ $150 

FX-80 + 
FX-100 + 
LQ1500 

JX-80 S 589 

we are an Authorized Dealer 

Okidata 

OKI82A,120cps S 295 

OKI83A 549 

OKI84P 669 

OKI84S 749 

OKI92P 359 

OKI93P 589 

Call for other Models 
FREE Plug n Play Roms w/92 & 93 



JUKI 

6100, 18 cps Ltr. Quality $ 394 

6300, 40 cps New" w/3K Buffer 
Letterouality 775 

Brother Dist. by Dynax 

HR15,12cps S 375 

HR25,25CPS 659 

HR35 ( 36CPS 949 

Panasonic 

I09l,l20cpsw/tractor $ 289 

Star Micronics 

Gemini 10X $ 259 

Gemini 15X 389 

Delta 10 379 

Power type 390 

C. ITOH 

8510AP S 319 

F10,40cps 929 

PrintmasterFl055pu 1179 



Toshiba 

P1351,1 92CPS $1289 

Fourth Dimension 

card&cable $ 49 

Microtek 
Dumpling GX (Grappler Compatible) $ 89 

Dumpling GXexpto64K 149 

DumplingGX16Kw/16Kexpto64K 169 
for each additional 16K 15 

Okidata Options 

Tractor for 82 & 92 $ 59 

Serial interface 99 

Orange Micro 

Grappler + $ 109 

Grappler + W/16K 179 

Star or Epson 

Epson Serial interface $ 119 

Star Serial interface 59 



WE STOCK WHAT WE SELL!! 



RETAIL STORES: 

11976 Aviation Blvd. 
inglewood, CA 90304 

16129 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite E 
Lawndale, CA 90260 

MAILORDER: Inquiry 5 1 

P.O. BOX 1936 
Hawthorne, CA 90250 



Retail Hours: 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 

10 a.m. -3 p.m. sat. 



All merchandise new. we accept MC, Visa, Wire 
Transfer, COD Call, Certified Check, P.O. s from 
qualified firms, APO accepted. Shipping: Minimum 
$4.50 first 5 pounds. Tax: California Res. Only add 
6V 2 % sales tax. All returns subject to 15% restock- 
ing charge. Advertised prices for Mail Order only. 
Retail prices slightly higher. 

Prices Subject to Change. 



Customer service Hours: 

10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 

John Aurentz 

(213)618-0487 

Mail Order Hours: 

7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. sat. 

(800)847-1718 (213)618-0477 

(Outside California) (inside California) 



SYSTEMS 




IBM PC System 

• PC 256K 

• Controller Keyboard 

• Two 360K Drives 

• IBM Monochrome 

Card and Monitor 

$2059 



APPLE HE 

System 

• CPU, Keyboard 
Two Slimline Drives & 

Controller Card 
Hi-Res Green Monitor 



$1299 



IBM PC System 

• PC 256K 

• Controller Keyboard 
* Two 360K Drives 

* Color Graphics Card 
• Hi-Res Green Monitor 



$1799 



Apple 

HE cpu $ 690 

Macintosh 1895 

lie Portable 899 

Kaypro 

Kayrpoll Call 

Kaypro 4 Call 

Kaypro 10 Call 

Kaypro lix Call 



IBM 

PC256K ( NoDrives $1250 

PC256K t 1 Drive 1399 

PC256K,2Drives 1599 

XTw/10Meg,256K 3495 

Additional Memory 64K 27 

AT Standard Config Call 

ATw/20meg . Call 

Tava 
PCCornpatiblew/ Monitor $1395 



Sanyo 

MBC 550-2 $ 799 

MBC555-2 1089 

Optional Serial Port. , 69 

Optional 360K Drive 159 

Compaq 

Portable (PC Compatible) 2, 360K Drives 

256Kof Memory $2150 

Call for all new Compaq's 



princton 
Graphics 

• HX-12 (640X280) 
• Hi-Res RGB 



$459 



Amdek 

300C, Hi-Res Green $ 139 

300A, Hi-Res Amber 149 

310A, Monochrome Amber 169 

300Hi-ResColorComp 279 

SOORCBComposite 399 

DVM Board for Apple RGB 129 




MONITORS 



IBM Monitor 

• Monochrome 
(720 x 350) 

• Hi-Res Green 

$219 



Amdek 

• Model 300 
Color Composite 
(300 X 260) 



$279 




IBM 

MonochromeGreen S 219 

Color Hi-Res 559 

Zenith 

ZVM122 $ 99 

2VM123 99 

BMC 

12AUW 5 79 

9191 219 



MODEMS 



Taxan 

425COlorRGB $ 399 

440 Ultra Hi-Res 999 

Princton Graphics 

MAX12, Monochrome Amber $ 179 

HX12,RCBCOlor 459 

SR-l2w/DoublerBoard 899 



Anchor 
Automation 

• 300 Baud 
• internal PC 
Compatible 



$79 



HaV6S 

Micro Modem HE $239 

300Baud 205 

1200B internal 399 

1200 459 

2400 Baud Call 

466 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



U.S. Robotics 

• 300, 1200 Baud 

• Standalone 

• With Cable 

$239 



Prometheus 

Promodem $ 329 

Pro 1200A Apple intw/sw 329 

Prol200BlBMlntw/sw 299 

Pro Mac w/ cable &sw . 329 

No.ccable 12 

Alpha Disp 89 

Options Proc. . . . 89 



Prometheus 

• Pro Modem 1200 

$329 



Anchor Automation 

Mark 3 For Tl $ 59 

Mark VI 300 Baud IBM 79 

Mark xn, 1200 Baud 229 

U.S. Robotics 

Password S 239 

Inquiry 52 



IBM & APPLE ACCY'S 




IBM PC 

Controller 

• ControlesTwo* 5W 
Full or Vi HT Drives 

Generic$/9 
IBM $129 

IBM EXTRAS 
Ast Research 

Six Pack + $ 249 

Mega + 265 

Add on Ports 49 

Hercules 

Colorcard $ 185 

Graphics Card 329 

Hard Disk 
10 Meg. External w/ pur $1195 

IBM 

Monochrome Adapter $ 229 

ColorCard 239 

Paradise systems 

Multi-display card $ 329 

NewModularCard 345 

ModuleA 88 

Module B 240 

Ouadram 

Quad ColorCard $ 199 

Ouadlink 389 

64K upgrade 

64K of Memory $26 

AT upgrade 

upgrade 200 ns $ 169 

PC Products 

PCPeacock $ 215 

Ports 

Parallel $ 79 

Serial 79 

ecu 

Color Graphics Card $159 



64K upgrades 

• Nine Prime 4164 

• 1 Year warranty 

$26 set 

1000 pes $2.60 63 

APPLE EXTRAS 

ALS 

ZEngine $ 119 

CPM3.0Card 249 

Astar 

RFModulator $ 15 

Fanw/Surge 34 

ecu 

16K Mem. Card lyr war $ 49 

Kraft 

Joystick $ 44 

Macro 

Joystick $ 29 

Micro Max 

Viewmax80,80col.card $ 139 

Viewmax80E(FforllB64K 129 

Micro Soft 

Mouse $ 139 

Premium Soft card HE 369 

Multiplan 189 

SOftCard(Z80)W/64K 279 

Micro Tek 

Serial interface $ 89 

TC 

Joystick $ 39 

Select-A-Port 31 

Paddles 34 



Ouadlink 

• By Quadram 
Run Apple Software 
on Your PC 



$389 



SVa" DISKETTES 

ecu 

Sgl/Dbl reinforced hub $16 I00forl40 

Dbl/Dbireinforcedhub 19 I00forl70 

Not Bulk Packed 

Dysan 

Sgl/Dbl $33 100for300 

Dbl/Dbl 39 100fOr370 

Fuji 

Sgl/Dbl $19 100forl80 

Dbl/Dbl 25 100for230 

verbatim 

Sgl/Dbl $26 100for240 

Dbl/Dbl 36 100for340 

8 DISKETTES 

Dysan 

Sgl/Sgl $34 100for320 

Dbl/Dbl 53 100 for 480 

verbatim 

Sgl/Sgl $30 100 for 280 

Dbl/Dbl 40 100 for 360 



DISK ACCESSORIES 

verbatim 

8" or 5 1 /«" Head Cleaning Kit $ 9 

Flip Tub 

5 1 /a" Holds 70 disks, plexiglass $ 17 



Unlimited 



CALL TOLL FREE 

(800)847-1718 



A California Corporation 



RETAIL STORES: 

11976 Aviation Blvd 
ingiewood ca 90304 



16 V9 H.wthome Blvd Suite E 
Lawnctale CA ^0260 



MAIL ORDER 

P.O. BOX 1936 
Hawthorne CA 902S0 



|i merchandise new toe itf.ept MC, \/isa to ire 
ransfei COC Call, Certified Check POs (renr 
uglified t'cn is APTs.ii.i.epred nhippmy Minimum 
First S p uncH r.i* California Res Only add 
sales rax ah return? subject v is restock 
■■i -'i-v'-je Advertised pr»ce^ *0" Mai' Orcte* m, 
( • nrio siightiy highei 



Customer Service & Technical 
(213)618-0487 

Sales Desk 

(800)847-1718 

Outside California 

(213)618-0477 

inside California 



no Surcharge for Credit Cards 

All Prices Reflect a Cash, 

Pre-paid Discount 

This Ad Supersedes All Others 



Customer Service Hours: 
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 

John Aurentz 

(213)618-0487 

Mail Order Hours: 

7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sat. 

(800)847-1718 (213)618-0477 

(Outside California) (inside California) 

Retail Hours: 

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 

10 a.m. -3 p.m. Sat. 




What business 

does a handsome 

dog like me have 

with a top cat 
like you? 



My name's McGruff, 1 and it's my busi- 
ness to help prevent crime. I think it 
should be your business, too— to teach 
your employees how to protect them- 
selves. Just send for my business kit 
-it'll help you develop a program 
that teaches your employees how 
to make their homes burglar- 
proof, make their neighborhoods 
safer, even how not to get mugged. 
And, while you're at it, get in 
touch with the cops— they can help 
you out. So now you're probably won- 
dering (like a top cat businessman 
should), what's in it for you. That's easy 
When your company works harder for 
your people, your people work harder for 
your company. 

So take the time, and... 



TAKE A BITE OUT OF 




McGruff, Crime Prevention Coalition, 
20 Banta Place, Hackensack, IT J 07601 
FLease send me lots of information on 
Crime Prevention. 

Name : 



Company:. 
Address :_ 
City: 



.State:. 



-Zip:. 



A message from the Crime Prevention Coalition, 
fp\i I this publication and The Ad Council. 

(jOUKH ©1980 The Advertising Council, Inc. 




No One Will Beat these 
Prices and Delivery 

» A I W- ^r *m> **. ^M I * till ■ A ^B » A « ■- M* MB ■ ■ '^* 



WE STOCK WHAT WE SELL 



BMC 9191 
MONITOR 

• Color Composite 

• Amdek Color I Compatible 

• Works w/Apple, Commodore, IBM' 

and many others 

List $349 
Close Out Price 



$169 



IBM PC 

• With 256K Memory 

• No Drives or Controller 

• Build Yourself & Save, Save, Save 

List $1595 



$1250 




DISK DRIVE 
LIQUIDATION 

Your Choice 

• Teac 55B 
• Shusart SA455 

• MPI B-52 Full Height 

• All IBM Compatible " 

$119 ea. 



Call for Comparable Discounts on ALL IBM Products! 



o^ ; 



<$ 



<\e* 



Call (800) 841-0905 



For Lowest 
Quote 



64K UPGRADES 

• 9-4164, 150 or 200 ns 
• One Year Warranty 



List 99 
100 sets 



$24 set 
$22 set 



OKIDATA 92 

• ML92 

• Free Roms 

• 160 cps 



List $599 



OKI 93P 



$359 
$539 



AST SIXPACK + 
W/384K Installed 

• Par. & Ser. Ports 

* Clock / Calendar 
• Optional Game Port 



List $799 



$459 



HAYES 1200 

* 1200 Baud Standalone 
• State-of-the-art 



List $698 



$459 



ORDER DESK: 
(213)320-6822 
(800)841-0905 
(OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA) 




• We Accept MC, Visa, Wire 
Transfers, Certified Checks 

• COD's Available 

• No Surcharge for 
Credit Cards 



• Shipping Minimum $5.00 

• Purchase Orders Accepted 

• This Ad Supersedes all Others 
Inquiry 2 50 
Prices Subject to Change 



MAIL ORDER & WAREHOUSE: 

2031 7 Western Avenue 
Torrance, CA 90501 



, — . 


VISA 1 



AMERICA'S NO. 1 

==^== S Systems 
iz^^h Specialists 



WE CUSTOMIZE IBM PC SYSTEMS 



IBM PC $1499 

256K, two disk drives 360K each, 
Drive Controller and Keyboard 




IBMPCw/lOMB 

$2199 



256K, one floppy Drive, Keyboard 
1 MB Hard Disk with Controller 
BOOTS FROM HARD DISK 



ALL SYSTEMS ARE CONFIGURED 
AND TESTED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE 



BBMPCw/30MB 

256K, one floppy Drive, Keyboard 
30 MB Hard Disk with Controller 
and Booster Power Supply 
BOOTS FROM HARD DISK 



$3299 



• PRICE WAR • callus LAST 



PRINTERS 



-■»«** M RX 80 $229 FX 80 $389 

EP5ONRX-80FT. $279 FX 100 $569 

LQ- 1500 Parallel ... $1,099 Serial $1199 

LQ- 1 500 Tractor $50 Cutsheet feeder $399 



OKIDATA 

INCLUDES PLUG&PLAY 



92P. 
93P. 



134T 
$549 
$649 



JUKI Ltr Quality, 18 CPS 13 wide $379 

6100 Tractor $129 



TOSHIBA 1351 

Tractor $1 69 Cut Sheet Feeder 



$1299 
..$799 



DYNAXDX-15 $369 

Keyboard $149 Tractor $99 Sheet Feeder $199 



BROTHER HR 25 $599 HR 35 $849 
Tractor $119 Cut Sheet feeder $199 



HARD DRIVES 



TALL GRASS TECHNOLOGY 

20 MB w/20 MB Backup $2,399 

35 MB w/45 MB Backup S3 799 

70 MB w/60 MB Backup $5,999 

Controller Card $140 Cartridge $40 



WITH YOUR BEST QUOTES 



NETWORKING 



QUBIE10MB CALL 



ORCHID TECHNOLOGY 

PC Net PLUS Starter Kit $799 

PC netBlossom, PC turbo, PC netPlusRam CALL 



EVEREX10MB 



.$699 



MAYNARD 10MB/30MB 

10MB/WS-1 $888 10MB/WS 2 $1,029 

30MB/WS1A $1999 30MB/WS-2A $2,099 

WS-1 Gemini $1049 WS-2 Gemini $1149 

The Gemini includes 10MB Hard Disk & Half Ht. Floppy 



IRMALINE 

CALL FOR YOUR BEST PRICES 



MULTI-DISPLAY CARDS 



mimaivah Mono OR Color $199 

PERSYST BOB Color CALL 



_ m — MonoGraph Plus w/dock & PP $369 

AST Serial Port Option $30 



EVEREX0fQph.es Edge 



CALL 



QUME SPRINT ho $1299 

With IBM Interface Module 1155 $1499 



NEC SPIN WRITER 

2050 

3550 

8850 

NEC PIN WRITER 

P2 

P3 



$699 
$1299 
$1699 



FLOPPY DRIVES 



TEAC HEIGHT 55B-DSDD 



MYLEX 



CALL 



$109 



CDC Full Ht. 



DSDD 



$139 



TANDON100 2 

Full Ht. DSDD 



• SUPER SPECIALS * 



$139 



TECIVIAR Graphics Master 



$429 



u — ■»*■■■■ mm Mono Graphics $319 

HERCULES Color Graphics $169 



NEW 



Graphixll 
Plus II 



$299 



VUTEK Color with Parallel & Serial CALL 



PARADISE 

NEW Modular Card 



$299 



MONITORS 



MAX- 12 Amber-Monochrome $179 

■%#»** HX-12— Hi-Res Color $429 

PGS SR-12-Super Hi-Res Color $599 

Scan Doubler CALL 



TAX AN 440 Color - 
122A(M) $169 121G(M) 



Super Hi Res $549 

..§159 116A(C). .$149 



300A (Composite) $159 300G $139 

AMDEK 310A (Mono) $179 



HAYES 1 200 Standalone $439 

SMARTMODEM 1 200B w/Software $369 



8087 CHIP 



$109 



JUKI 6 100 



$399 



MAYNARD 10ME7WS-2 $1,029 



MULTI-FUNCTION CARDS 



ORCHID TECHNOLOGY 

Blossom 64K (to 384K) $249 

PC net/upgrades CALL 



NEW QU APBO ARP (.. m $219 



AST SIX PAK with 64K (to 384K) $249 



MODEMS 



MICROCOMERA2 

PC Internal 1200 Baud w/software, 4 Yr. Warranty 



IBM PC Keyboard (original) .CALL 



$359 



HAYES 
SMARTMODEM 



1200 Standalone 
1 200B w/software 



$439 
$369 



QUBIE Standalone $329 Internal $299 



POPCOIVl Internal or Standalone 



CALL 



PROMETHEUS promodem 1200 $299 



ss 



NO SURCHARGE ON COD VISA or MC 



Minimum onfer St 00 Pnces & availabilrty subject to change We ship UPS 
Shipping/handling charges vary COD requires tosh, money order cosher or certified 
check only For odvonce payment, please call first for workortJer number Personal & 
Company check take 3 weeks to dear 20% restocking fee on returns No POs or 
foreign orders 



COMPU 



3541 OLD CONEJO ROAD, SUITE 102, THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91320 



OKIDATA 

INCLUDES PLUG&PLAY 



92P 
93P 



$349 
$549 
$649 



BROTHER HR 35 (36CPS 1 



$599 
$849 



KEYTRONIC 

Deluxe Keyboard KB51 51 



$179 



ORCHID TECHNOLOGY 

Blossom 64-K (to 384K) $249 

Turbo 186 CALL 



AMERICAN 
EXPRESS 



AMEX5S 



AST MEGA PLUS with 64K (to 512K) $249 

$109 



MISC. ADD ONS 



8087 CHIP 



CABLE Parallel $20 Serial $25 

Keyboard Extension, 6 ft $10 



PLATINUM DISKETTES 

Box of 10 



$29 



VERBATIM Datalife DSDD 

Box of 10 $27 



COMPUTER POWER P2 SI09 

ACCESSORIES DIRECTOR ?\l $149 



STANDBY 200 WATTS.. 

POWER SUPPLY 300 watts.. 

Surge Protection, up to 30 minutes Standby Power 



..$279 
..$379 



Wll I fAI I . p|eased|fiRt 

if ILL LHLLI for workorder number. 



805-498-6635 



TELEX 888522 



Ad #193 



470 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



Inquiry 57 



PRINTER RIBBONS 



PRICE 



PER PER 
RIBBON DOZE1V 

ANADEX 9500 10.50 109.8C 

APPLE DMP 5.25 52,20 

C. ITOH PROWRITER 5.25 52.20 

EPSON MX-FX 70/80 5.00 48.00 

EPSON MX-FX 100 6.75 69.00 

GEMINI 10-10X-15-15X 2.50 23.40 

IBM HARMONICA W 6.75 78.00 

IBM HARMONICA W 7.95 92.40 

IBM 4-COLOR 15.75 180.00 

IDS MICROPRISM480 5.75 58.80 

IDS PAPER TIGER 460/560 6.75 78.00 

IDS PRISM 7.95 92.40 

IDS 4-COLOR 15.75 180.00 

NEC -3500 M/S Non Flip 6.25 69.00 

NEC - 3500 NYLON 9.00 96.00 

NEC PC-8023A 5.25 52.20 

OKI DATA 80/82/83/92 2.50 23.40 

OKIDATA-84 5.00 57.00 

RADIO SHACK DMP-2100 7.50 87.00 

RADIO SHACK LP VI & VIII 5.75 58.80 

SILVER REED EX 550 S/S 5.00 57.00 

SILVER REED EX 550 NYLON 9.00 105.00 

TOSHIBA -1350 7.50 87.00 

XEROX 610/620 M/S 5.95 66.00 

Add $3.00 Ship. & Hand. — To Order Call 

Toll Free 1-800-742-1122 

In Ml (313) 569-3218 or Write for our Catalog 

DWIGHT COMPANY, INC. 

15565 Northland Drive - West Tower 
Southfield, Michigan 48075-6496 



Inquiry 359 



BLUE BOOK 

Prices shown for thousands 
of computers, software, and 
peripherals. 

Each listing includes sug- 
gested list, avg. retail, whole- 
sale, and used prices for all the 
geographical regions of the 
United States. 

Send $12.95 + $.50 postage to: 

NCDA 

National Computer Dealers Association 

5420 Hwy. 6 North 
Houston, Texas 77084 




Your IBM Model 50, 60, 65, 75, 85 or 
95 Electronic Typewriter can be a 
computer printer or terminal using 
our interface modules: 
Model 5060 RS232 Serial 
Model 5060-CP Centronics Parallel 

Both Versions 

canbeeasily 
installed and 
require NO 
modifica- 
tions to the 
typewriter. 
A 2K buffer is 
standard, 8K optional. 

CALIFORNIA MICRO 
COMPUTER 

9323 Warbler Ave., Fountain Valley, CA 92708 
(714)964-9301 




C SOFTWARE 
DEVELOPMENT 



PCDOS/MSDOS 

• FULL C COMPILER PER K&R 

• Inline 8087 or Assembler 
Floating Point 

• Full 1 MB Addressing for 
Code or Data 

• Transcendental Functions 

• MSDOS 1 1/8.Q LIBRARY SUPPORT 

• Program Chaining using Exec 

• Environment Available to Mam 

• c-wMndow™ C SOURCE CODE 
DEBUGGER 

• Variable Display & Alteration 
Using C Expression 

• FAST 8088/8086 ASSEMBLER 
Combined Package — S199 
Call or write: 



c-systems 
P.O. Box 3253 

^TM c-systems 



Fullerton. CA 92634 
714-637-5362 



W. 



Monitor Mover 
Gives Back the Desk 



,95 




• Models to fit most CRTs 
» Rotates 360° on base 

• Adjustable height 

► Support tray swivels and tilts 

> Holds up to 50 lbs 

» Clamp, screw and wall mountings 

Lirlfeklllllll 

P.O. Box 8056 

Grand Rapids, Ml 49508 

(616) 241-4040 



Inquiry 1 83 







UNLIMITED 




PERIPHERALS 




Disk Trays 

A ma ray Media Mate b 

Ring King Data Defender w/Lock 


fit 
16 


Joysticks 

Hayes Mach II 

Hayes Macn ill 

Hayes Paddies 

Wico Boss 

Wico Orrgmai Bar Handle 


33 

41 
30 
11 
17 


Ribbons 




Prowritef/lmagewrice' 
Okidata 82/Gemmi I0x/J5x 
MX/FX 80 
!0" Colors Available' Add 30% 


I 
2 
S 


RAM 64K 




'50 nano sec— set of 9 


35 


Accessories 




Hayes Smartmodem 1 200 
Astar RF Modulator [Apple/IBM) 
Astar Fan w/surge protection 


440 
25 
29 


Brooks Surge Stopper VCN 4-6 


S25 


SOFTWARE TOOK 




25201 La Paz, Laguna Hills, CA 92651 


MASTERCARD/VISA ACCEPT 


rED 


(CALIF) 1 800 982 5800 




(OUTSIDE CALIF) 1 800 633 4787 



Inquiry 55 



Inquiry 319 




take the drudgery out of programming! 

Your IBM PC W/128K. DOS 2 0. one disk drive and 
our Program. 
Will cross reference and/or print Source 

Code 

flag duplicate data names and invalid 

references 

allow more than 1400 data names and 

1 1 ,000 references 

process all versions of Cobol 

be "personalized" with your name on 

the report heading. 



Invest $25 00 in your future 

Send check or money order to: 
Meta System inc. of Alaska 
2806 Iris Drive 
Anchorage, Alaska 99503 
Phone 907-243-8619 



Will 



Will 



Will 

Will 



HAKP^S 



DATA 



SEC' 



FiXTends 
boot hassles, 
stops data 
thieves — 

DATAMAC, DAVONG, 

GREAT LAKES, IOMEGA, 

XEBEC, ZOBEX, others. 

No-Slot Installation for 
IBM PC, COMPAQ, COLUMBIA 

$70 - $95 + tax/shpg 

GOLDEN BOW 

SYSTEMS 

Box 3039 

San Diego 

CA 92103 

619/298-9349 





NEW! 



^®afeSidnL 



KEYBOARD PROTECTOR 
Remains in place during keyboard use. 
Prevents damage from liquid spills, dust, 
ashes, etc. Fits like a second skin, excellent 
feel. Homerow and numeric locators. 
Available for: IBM-PC, Apple He, Radio 
Shack Model 100, Commodore 64. 
Send $29.95. check or M.O., Visa & MC 
include exp. date. Specify computer type. 
Dealer inquires invited. Free brochure 
available. 
MERRITT Computer Products, Inc. 
2925 LBJ, *180 / Dallas, Texas 75234 
^^^^^(214)94^14^^^^^^ 



Inquiry 205 



Inquiry 124 



Inquiry 203 



4164 MK S MIC 9/39.95 



41256 256 Ws ,M,c 29.95 



STATIC RAMS 



2101 
5101 
2102-1 
21 02 L 4 
2 1021 2 
2125 
2111 
21 TIL 
2112 
2114 
2114-25 
2114L-4 
2114L-3 
2114L-2 
2114L 15 
TC5514 
2141 
2147 
2148 

TMS4044 4 
TMS4044 3 
TMS4044-2 
TMS40L44 2 
UPD410 
MK4118 
TMM2016 200 
TMM2016-150 
TMM2016-100 
HM6116 4 
HM6116 3 
HM6116-2 
HM6116LP-4 
HM6116LP 3 
HM6116LP-2 
TC5516 
I TMS4016 
Z-6132 
HM6264P-15 
HM6264LP 15 
HM6264LP 12 



255x4 
256x4 
1024x4 
1024x1 
1024x1 
1024x1 
256x4 
256x4 
256x4 
1024x4 
1024x4 
1024x4 
1024x4 
1024x4 
1024x4 
1024x4 
4096x1 
4096x1 
1024x4 
4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
1024x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
4096x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 



(450ns) 

(450ns) (cmos) 

(450ns) 

(450nsHLP> 

(250ns)(LP) 

(45ns) 

(450ns) 

(450ns)(LP) 

(450ns) 

(450ns) 

(250ns) 

(450ns)(LP) 

(300ns)(LP) 

(200ns)(LP) 

(ISOnsHLP) 

(650ns)(cmos) 

(200ns) 

(55ns) 

(70ns) 

(450ns) 

(300ns I 

(200ns) 

(200ns)(LP| 

(100ns) 

(250ns) 

(200ns) 

(150ns) 

(100ns) 

(200ns) (cmos) 

(150ns)(cmos) 

(120ns) (cmos. 

(200ns) (cmos) (LP) 

(150ns)(cmos)(LP) 

( 120ns) (cmos K LP) 

(250ns)(cmos>) 

(200ns) 

( 300ns) (Qstat) 

(150ns)(cmos) 

(150ns) (cmos) (LP) 

(120ns)(cmos)(LP) 

Q stiit Qu.tsi Stati 



LP Low power 

DYNAMIC RAMS 



3.95 

.89 

99 

1.45 

295 

2.49 

2.95 

2.99 

8/9.95 

8 10.95 

8 12.95 

8 13.45 

8 13.95 

8 19.95 

4.95 

2.95 

4.95 

4.95 

3.49 

3.99 

4.49 

496 

395 

995 

4.15 

4.95 

6.15 

475 

4.95 

6.95 

4.95 

5.95 

8.95 

9.95 

6.95 

34.95 

24.95 

27.95 

29.95 



EPROMS 



1702 

2708 

2758 

2716 6 

2716 

2716 1 

TMS2516 

TMS2716 

TMS2532 

2732 

2732A-4 

2732A35 

2732A 

2732A 2 

2764 

2764-250 

2764 200 

TMS2564 

MCM68764 

MCM68766 

27128-45 

27128-30 

27128 

5 V Single 



256x8 
1024x8 
1024x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
2048x8 
4096x8 
4096x8 
4096x8 
4096x8 
4096x8 
4096x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 
8192x8 
16384x8 
16384x8 
16384x8 
5 Volt Supply 



<1us> 
(450ns) 
(450ns)(5V) 
(650ns) 
(450ns)(5V) 
(350ns)(5V) 
<450ns)(5V) 
(450ns) 
(450ns)(5V) 
(450ns)(5V) 
(450ns)(5V)(21V PGM) 
(350ns)(5V)(21V PGM) 
(250ns)(5V)(21V PGM) 
(200ns)(5V)(21V PGM) 
(450ns)(5V) 
<250ns}(5V) 
(200ns)(5V) 
(450ns)(5V) 
(450ns|(5V)(24 pin) 
(350ns)(5V)(24 pin) 
(450ns)(5V) 
(300ns)(5V) 
(250ns)(5V) 
21V PGM Program at 21 



4 50 
395 

5 95 
295 
3.95 
4.95 
495 
7.95 
495 
495 
495 

4 95 
6.95 

10.95 

5 95 
6.95 

11 95 
10.95 
24.95 
4295 
16.95 
18.95 
19.95 
Vote 



CRYSTALS 



| TMS4027 
I 2107 

MM5280 

TMS4050 

UPD411 

TMS4060 

MK4108 

MM5298 

4116-300 

4116-250 
; 4116-200 
I 4116-150 

4116-120 

2118 

MK4332 

4164-200 

4164 150 

4164-120 

MCM6665 

TM 54 164- 20 

TMS4164 15 

4164 REFRESH 65536x1 

TMS4416-20 16384x4 

TMS4416-15 16384x4 

41256-200 262144x1 

41256-150 262144x1 

5w Single 5 Volt Supply 



4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
4096x1 
8192x1 
8192x1 
16384x1 
16384x1 
16384x1 
16384x1 
16384x1 
16384x1 
32768x1 
65536x1 
65536x1 
65536x1 
65536x1 
65536x1 
65536x1 



(250ns) 

(200ns) 

(300ns) 

(300 ns) 

(300ns) 

(300ns) 

(200ns) 

(250ns) 

(300ns) 

(250ns) 

(200ns | 

(150ns) 

(120ns) 

(150ns)(5v) 

(200ns) 

(200ns)(5v) 

(150ns)(5v) 

(120ns)(5v) 

(200ns)(5v) 

(200ns)(5V) 

(150ns)(bv) 



1.99 

1.95 

1.95 

1.95 

1.95 

1.95 

.49 

.49 

8 6.95 

8 6.95 

8 8.95 

8 10.95 

8 12.95 

4.95 
9.95 

9 39.95 
9 44.95 

8.95 
6.95 
6.95 
7.95 



(150ns)(5V)(REFRESH) 8.95 



Z-80 
2.5 MHz 



(200ns)(5V) 
(150ns)(5v) 
(200ns)(5v) 
(150ns)(5v) 

REFRESH Pir 



6500 



8.95 

9.95 

29.95 

31.95 

1 Refresh 



• •••HIGH TECH**** 
NECjuPD7220 $39.95 

GRAPHICS DISPLAY CONTROLLER 

• FOUR MEGABIT BIT-MAPPED DISPLAY MEMORY 

• DRAWS LINES, ARCS, CIRCLES & RECTANGLES AT 
1.2 MILLION PIXELS PER SECOND 

• ZOOM, PAN, WINDOWING, AND LIGHT PEN 
CAPABILITIES 

+ DMA TRANSFER WITH 8257 OR 8237 

• UP TO 1024 x 1024 PIXEL GRAPHICS OR 256 x 100 
CHARACTERS 

• •••SPOTLIBHT****. 



ORDER TOLL FREE 

800-538-5000 
800-602-6270 

(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS) 



6800 



8200 



Z80-CPU 
Z80-CTC 
Z80 DART 
Z80-DMA 
Z80-PIO 
Z80-SIO 
Z80-SIO 1 
Z 80 SIO 2 
Z80 SIO 9 



2.49 
2.95 
7.95 
8.95 
2.95 
9.95 
9.95 
9.95 
9.95 



4.0 MHz 



Z80A 
Z80A 
Z80A 
Z80A 
Z80A 
Z80A 
Z80A 
ZSOA 
Z80A 



CPU 
CTC 
DART 
DMA 
PIO 
SIO 
SIO 1 
SIO 2 
SIO 9 



2.95 
3.95 
8.95 
9.95 
395 
10.95 
10 95 
10.95 
10.95 



6.0 MHz 



Z80B CPU 
Z80B CTC 
Z80R-PIO 
Z80B DART 
Z80B SIO 
Z80B SIO 2 



8.95 

9.95 

995 

19.95 

29.95 

29.95 



ZILOG 



1.0 MHz ■ 


68000-8 
6800 


39 95 ■ 
2.95 ■ 


8031 
8035 


29.95 ■ 
5.95 ■ 


8202 
8203 


2495 
39.95 


6502 4.95 ■ 


6802 


7.95 ■ 


8039 


5.95 ■ 


8205 


3.50 


65C02(CMOS) 12.95 ■ 


6803 


1995 ■ 


INS 80t 


17.95 ■ 


8212 


1.80 


6504 6.95 ■ 


6808 


13.90 ■ 


INS-8073 


49.95 ■ 


8214 


3.85 


6505 8.95 ■ 


6809 E 


895 ■ 


8080 


3.95 ■ 


8216 


1.75 


6507 9.95 ■ 


6809 


8.95 ■ 


8085 


4.95 ■ 


8224 


2.25 


6520 2.95 ■ 


6810 


2 95 ■ 


8085A2 


11.95 ■ 


8226 


1.80 


6522 5.49 ■ 


6820 


4 35 ■ 


8086 


24.95 ■ 


8228 


3.49 


6532 9.95 ■ 


6821 


2.95 ■ 


8087 


175.00 ■ 


8237 


13.95 


6545 9.95 ■ 


6828 


14.95 I 


8088 


19.95 ■ 


8237-5 


15.95 


6551 9.95 ■ 


6840 


12.95 ■ 


8089 


69.95 ■ 


8238 


4.49 




6843 


34.95 ■ 


8155 


6.95 ■ 


8243 


4.45 


2.0 MHz I 

6502A 5.95 ■ 
6520A 5.95 ■ 


6844 


25.95 ■ 


8155 2 


7.95 ■ 


8250 


10.95 


6845 


1295 ■ 


8156 


6.95 ■ 


8251 


3.95 


6847 


11.95 ■ 


8185 


29.95 ■ 


8251 A 


4.49 


6850 


3.25 ■ 


8185 2 


39 95 ■ 


8253 


6.95 


6522A 9.95 1 
6532A 11.95 ■ 
6545A 12.95 ■ 


6852 


5 75 ■ 


8741 


29.95 ■ 


8253 5 


7.95 


6860 


7 95 ■ 


8748 


24.95 ■ 


8255 


4.49 


6875 


695 ■ 


8749 


39.95 ■ 


8255 5 


5 25 


6551 A 11.95 1 


6880 


225 ■ 


8755 


24.95^H 


8257 


7.95 




6883 
68047 


2295 ■ 
24 95 ■ 






8257 5 
8259 


8.95 
6.90 


3.0 MHz 1 






6502B 8.95 ^H 


68488 
6800= 


19.95 ■ 
f MHz H 






8259 5 

8271 

8272 


7.50 




r MISC 




79.95 
19.95 


^UARTS^W 






UPD7201 


19.95 1 


8274 


39.95 


68B00 


10.95 1 


TMS99531 


9.95 ■ 


8275 


29.95 


AV5 1013 3.95 1 


68B02 


11.95 ■ 


TMS99532 


29.95 ■ 


8279 


6.95 


AY31015 6.95 ■ 


68B09E 


11.95 ■ 


ULN2003 


2.49 ■ 


8279 5 


7.95 


PT1472 9.95 ■ 


68B09 


1195 ■ 


3242 


7.95 ■ 


8282 


6.50 


TR1602 3.95 ■ 


68B10 


595 ■ 


3341 


4.95 ■ 


8283 


6.50 


2350 9.95 ■ 


68B21 


5.95 ■ 


MC3470 


4.95 ■ 


8284 


5.50 


2651 8.95 ■ 


68B40 


19.95 ■ 


MC3480 


9.00 ■ 


8286 


6.50 


IM6402 7.95 ■ 


68B45 


19.95 ■ 


11C90 


13.95 ■ 


8287 


6.50 


IM6403 8.95 ■ 


68B50 


5.95 ■ 


95H90 


7.95 ■ 


8288 


14.95 


UPD7201 1995 ■ 






2513 001 up 


9.95 ■ 


8289 


49.95 


INS8520 10.95 ^M 


. 68B0O 


2 MHz ^H 


. 2513-002 low 


^M 


L 8292 


14.95 



32 768 KHz 


1 95 


1.0 MHz 


3 95 


1 8432 


3.95 


2.0 


2.95 


2.097152 


2.95 


2.4576 


2 95 


3.2768 


2 95 


3.579545 


2 95 


4.0 


2 95 


4.032 


2 95 


5.0 


2.95 


5.0688 


2.95 


5.185 


295 


5.7143 


2 95 


6.0 


2.95 


6 144 


295 


6.5536 


295 


8.0 


295 


10.0 


2 95 


10.738635 


2.95 


14.31818 


2.95 


15.0 


2.95 


16.0 


2.95 


17.430 


2 95 


18.0 


2 95 


18432 


295 


20.0 


2.95 


22 1184 


2.95 


24.0 


295 


32.0 


295 


GENERATORS 


BIT RATE 


MC14411 


11.95 


BR1941 


11.95 


4702 


12.95 


COM5016 


16.95 


COM8116 


10.95 


MM5307 


10.95 


FUNCTION 


MC4024 


3.95 


LM566 


1.49 


XR2206 


3.75 


8038 


3.95 


CRT 




CONTROLLERS 


6845 


12.95 


68B45 


19.95 


6847 


11.95 


68047 


24 95 


HD46505SP 


15.95 


MC1372 


6.95 


8275 


29.95 


7220 


39.95 


CRT5027 


19.95 


CRT5037 


34 95 


TMS9918A 


39.95 


DP8350 


49 95 


DISK 




CONTROLLERS 


1771 


15 95 


1791 


2395 


1793 


23.95 


1795 


2395 


1797 


23.95 


2791 


39 95 


2793 


39.95 


2795 


39 95 


2797 


39 95 


6843 


34.95 


8272 


19 95 


UPD765 


19.95 


MB8876 


29.95 


MB8877 


34.95 


1691 


7.95 


2143 


7.95 



CRYSTAL 


OSCILLATORS 


1 OMHz 7.95 


8.0 


1.8432 7.95 


10.0 


2.0 7.95 


12.0 


2.4576 7.95 


15.0 


2.5 7.95 


16.0 


4.0 7.95 


18.432 


5.0688 7.95 


20.0 


5.0 7.95 


24.0 


6.144 7.95 





795 
7.95 
7.95 
7.95 
795 
795 
7.95 



l^=\ 



74LS00 



74LS00 


.24 


74LS189 


8.95 


74LS01 


.25 


74LS190 


.89 


74LS02 


.25 


74LS191 


89 


74LS03 


.25 


74LS192 


79 


74LS04 


.24 


74LS193 


.79 


74LS05 


.25 


74LS194 


.69 


74LS08 


.28 


74LS195 


69 


74LS09 


.29 


74LS196 


.79 


74LS10 


25 


74LS197 


79 


74LS1 1 


.35 


74LS221 


89 


74 LSI 2 


.35 


74LS240 


95 


74LS13 


.45 


74LS241 


99 


74LS14 


59 


74LS242 


99 


74LS15 


.35 


74LS243 


.99 


74LS20 


.25 


74LS244 


1 29 


74LS21 


.29 


74LS245 


1.49 


74LS22 


.25 


74LS247 


75 


74LS26 


29 


74LS248 


99 


74LS27 


29 


74LS249 


99 


74LS28 


.35 


74LS251 


59 


74LS30 


.25 


74LS253 


59 


74LS32 


.29 


74LS257 


59 


74LS33 


.55 


74LS258 


59 


74LS37 


35 


74LS259 


2 75 


74LS38 


35 


74LS260 


59 


74LS40 


25 


74LS261 


225 


74LS42 


49 


74LS266 


55 


74LS47 


75 


74LS273 


1.49 


74LS48 


.75 


74LS275 


3.35 


74LS49 


.75 


74LS279 


.49 


74LS51 


25 


74LS280 


1.98 


74LS54 


29 


74LS283 


69 


74LS55 


.29 


74LS290 


89 


74LS63 


1.25 


74LS293 


89 


74LS73 


.39 


74LS295 


99 


74LS74 


.35 


74LS298 


89 


74LS75 


39 


74LS299 


1.75 


74LS76 


.39 


74LS322 


5.95 


74LS78 


.49 


74LS323 


3.50 


74LS83 


.60 


74LS324 


1 75 


74LS85 


.69 


74LS348 


2.50 


74LS86 


39 


74LS352 


1.29 


74LS90 


55 


74LS353 


1.29 


74LS91 


.89 


74LS363 


1.36 


74LS92 


55 


74LS364 


1 95 


74LS93 


55 


74LS365 


.49 


74LS95 


75 


74LS366 


49 


74LS96 


89 


74LS367 


45 


74 LSI 07 


.39 


74LS368 


.45 


74LS109 


.39 


74LS373 


1.39 


74LS112 


39 


74LS374 


1.39 


74LS113 


.39 


74LS375 


.95 


74LS114 


.39 


74LS377 


1.39 


74LS122 


45 


74LS378 


1.18 


74LS123 


.79 


74LS379 


1.35 


74LS124 


2.90 


74LS385 


3.90 


74LS125 


.49 


74LS386 


45 


74LS126 


.49 


74LS390 


1.19 


74LS132 


59 


74LS393 


1.19 


74LS133 


.59 


74LS395 


1.19 


74LS136 


.39 


74LS396 


1.89 


74LS137 


.99 


74LS399 


1.49 


74LS138 


55 


74LS424 


3 95 


74LS139 


55 


74LS447 


.95 


74LS145 


1.20 


74LS490 


1.95 


74LS147 


2.49 


74LS540 


1.95 


74LS148 


1.35 


74LS541 


1.95 


74LS151 


.55 


74LS624 


3.99 


74LS153 


.55 


74LS640 


2.20 


74 LSI 54 


1.90 


74LS645 


2.20 


74LS155 


.69 


74LS668 


1.69 


74LS156 


.69 


74LS669 


1.89 


74LS157 


65 


74LS670 


1.49 


74LS158 


59 


74LS674 14.95 


74LS160 


.69 


74LS682 


3.20 


74LS161 


.65 


74LS683 


3.20 


74LS162 


69 


74LS684 


3.20 


74LS163 


65 


74LS685 


3.20 


74 LSI 64 


69 


74LS688 


2.40 


74LS165 


.95 


74LS689 


3.20 


74LS166 


1.95 


81LS95 


1.49 


74 LSI 68 


1.75 


81LS96 


1.49 


74LS169 


1.75 


25LS2518 4.13 


74LS170 


1.49 


25LS2521 2.80 


74LS173 


.69 


25LS2538 3.74 


74 LSI 74 


.55 


25LS2569 2.80 


74LS175 


.55 


26LS31 


2.19 


74LS181 


2.15 


26LS32 


2.19 



SffSJDR Microdevices 

■ ■ 1224 S. Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128 
800-538-5000 • 800-662-6279 (CA) • (408) 995-5430 
FAX (408) 275-8415 • Telex 171-110 



KEYBOARD 
CHIPS 

I AY5 2376 1 1 95 

AV5 3600STD 11.95 

Lays 3600 pro 11.95 j 



CLOCK 
CIRCUTS 

I MM5314 4.95 

MM5369 1.95 

MM5369-EST 1.95 

MM5375 4.95 

MM58167 8.95 

MM58174 11.95 

L MSM5832 3.95 i 



RETAIL STORE - 1256 S. BASCOM AVENUE 
HOURS: M-W-F, 9-5 TU-TH, 9-9 SAT, 10-3 

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING 

TERMS: Minimum order S 10.00. For shipping and handling include 
$2.50 lor UPS Ground and S3.S0 for UPS Air. Orders over 1 lb. and 
foreign orders may require additional shipping charges - please 
contact our sales department for the amount. CA. resident' 
include 6% sales tax. Bay Area and LA residents include 6V. ... 
merchandise is warranted for 90 days unless otherwise stated. Prices 
are subject to change without totice. We are not responsible lor 
typographical errors. We reserve the nght to limit quantities and to 
substitute manufacturer. All merchandise subject to pnor sale. 



472 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1 98 5 



Inquiry 1 62 



HM6264P- 1 5 m & w 24.95 SSI263 



SPEECH 

SYNTHESIZER 



39.95 



74S00 



CMOS 



74S0O 


.32 


74S135 


.89 


74S244 


2.20 


■ 4000 


.29 


4532 


1.95 


74S02 


.35 


74S138 


.85 


74S251 


.95 


■ 4001 


.25 


4538 


1.95 


74S03 


.35 


74S139 


.85 


74S253 


.95 


■ 4002 


.25 


4539 


1.95 


74S04 


.35 


74S140 


.55 


74S257 


.95 


■ 4006 


.89 


4541 


2.64 


74S05 


.35 


74S151 


.95 


74S258 


.95 


■ 4007 


29 


4543 


1.19 


74S08 


.35 


74S153 


.95 


74S260 


.79 


■ 4008 


.95 


4553 


5.79 


74S09 


.40 


74S157 


.95 


74S273 


2.45 


■ 4009 


.39 


4555 


.95 


74S10 


.35 


74S15S 


.95 


74S274 


1995 


■ 4010 


.45 


4556 


.95 


74S11 


.35 


74S161 


1.95 


74S275 


19.95 


■ 4011 


.25 


4558 


2.45 


74S15 


.35 


74S162 


1.95 


74S280 


1.95 


■ 4012 


.25 


4560 


4.25 


74S20 


35 


74S163 


1.95 


74S283 


3.29 


■ 4013 


38 


4569 


3.49 


74S22 


.35 


74S168 


3.95 


74S287 


1.90 


■ 4014 


.79 


4581 


1.95 


74S30 


.35 


74S169 


3.95 


74S288 


1.90 


■ 4015 


.39 


4582 


1.95 


74S32 


.40 


74S174 


.95 


74S289 


6.98 


■ 4016 


.39 


4584 


.75 


74S37 


.88 


74S175 


.95 


74S299 


7.35 


■ 4017 


.69 


4585 


.75 


74S38 


.85 


74S180 


11.95 


74S301 


6.95 


■ 4018 


.79 


45151 


12.95 


74S40 


.35 


74S181 


3.95 


74S373 


2.45 


■ 4019 


.39 


4702 


12.95 


74S51 


.35 


74S182 


2.95 


74S374 


2.45 


■ 4020 


.75 


4724 


1.50 


74S64 


.40 


74S185 


16.95 


74S381 


7.95 


■ 4021 


.79 


74C0O 


.35 


74S65 


.40 


74S188 


1.95 


74S387 


1.95 


■ 4022 


.79 


74C02 


.35 


74S74 


.50 


74S189 


6.95 


74S399 


2.95 


■ 4023 


.29 


74C04 


.35 


74S85 


1.99 


74S194 


1.49 


74S412 


2.98 


■ 4024 


.65 


74C08 


.35 


74S86 


.50 


74S195 


1.49 


74S470 


6.95 


■ 4025 


.29 


74C10 


.35 


74S112 


.50 


74S196 


1.49 


74S471 


4.95 


■ 4026 


1.65 


74C14 


.59 


74S113 


.50 


74S197 


1.49 


74S472 


4.95 


■ 4027 


.45 


74C20 


.35 


74S114 


.55 


74S201 


6.95 


74S474 


4.95 


■ 4028 


.69 


74C30 


.35 


74S124 


2.75 


74S225 


7.95 


74S570 


2.95 


■ 4029 


.79 


74C32 


.39 


74S132 


1.24 


74S226 


3.99 


74S571 


2.95 


■ 4030 


39 


74C42 


1.29 


74S133 


.45 


74S240 


2.20 


74S573 


9.95 


■ 4034 


1.95 


74C48 


1.99 


74S134 


50 


74S241 


2.20 


87S181 


16.25 


■ 4035 


.85 


74C73 


.65 










87S185 


16.95 j 


■ 4040 


.75 
.75 


74C74 
74C76 


.65 
.80 














H 4041 














■ 4042 

■ 4043 


.69 
.85 


74C83 
74C85 


1.95 

1.95 


















7400 






4044 
4046 


.79 
.85 


74C86 
74C89 


.39 
4.50 


7400 


.19 


7483 


.50 


74172 


5.95 


4047 


.95 


74C90 


1.19 


7401 


.19 


7485 


.59 


74173 


.75 


4048 


.69 


74C93 


1.75 


7402 


19 


7486 


.35 


74174 


.89 


4049 


.35 


74C95 


.99 


7403 


19 


7489 


215 


74175 


.89 


4050 


.35 


74C150 


5.75 


7404 


.19 


7490 


.35 


74176 


89 


4051 


.79 


74C151 


2.25 


7405 


.25 


7491 


40 


74177 


.75 


4052 


1.99 


74C154 


3.25 


7406 


29 


7492 


.50 


74178 


1.15 


4053 


79 


74C157 


1.75 


7407 


.29 


7493 


.35 


74179 


1 75 


4060 


.89 


74C160 


1.19 


7408 


.24 


7494 


.65 


74180 


.75 


4066 


39 


74C161 


1.19 


7409 


.19 


7495 


.55 


74181 


225 


4068 


.39 


74C162 


1.19 


7410 


19 


7496 


.70 


74182 


.75 


4069 


.29 


74C163 


1.19 


7411 


.25 


7497 


2.75 


74184 


2.00 


4070 


.35 


74C164 


1.39 


7412 


.30 


74100 


1.75 


74185 


2.00 


4071 


.29 


74C165 


2.00 


7413 


.35 


74105 


1.14 


74189 


2.99 


4072 


29 


74C173 


.79 


7414 


49 


74107 


.30 


74190 


1.15 


4073 


.29 


74C174 


1.19 


7416 


.25 


74109 


.45 


74191 


1.15 


4075 


.29 


74C175 


1.19 


7417 


.25 


74110 


.45 


74192 


.79 


4076 


.79 


74C192 


1.49 


7420 


.19 


74111 


.55 


74193 


.79 


4077 


.59 


74C193 


1.49 


7421 


.35 


74116 


1.55 


74194 


85 


4078 


.29 


74C195 


1.39 


7422 


.35 


74120 


1.20 


74195 


.85 


4081 


.29 


74C200 


5.75 


7423 


.29 


74121 


.29 


74196 


.79 


4082 


.29 


74C221 


1.75 


7425 


.29 


74122 


.45 


74197 


75 


4085 


.95 


74C244 


2.25 


7426 


.29 


74123 


.49 


74198 


1 35 


4086 


.95 


74C373 


2.45 


7427 


.29 


74125 


.45 


74199 


1.35 


4093 


.49 


74C374 


2.45 


7428 


.45 


74126 


.45 


74221 


1 35 


4094 


2.99 


74C901 


.39 


7430 


.19 


74128 


.55 


74246 


1.35 


4098 


2.49 


74C902 


.85 


7432 


.29 


74132 


.45 


74247 


1.25 


4099 


1.95 


74C903 


.85 


7433 


.45 


74136 


.50 


74248 


1.85 


14409 


12.95 


74C905 10.95 


7437 


.29 


74141 


.65 


74249 


1.95 


14410 


12.95 


74C906 


.95 


7438 


.29 


74142 


2.95 


74251 


75 


14411 


11.95 


74C907 


1.00 


7439 


.79 


74143 


4.95 


74259 


2.25 


14412 


12.95 


74C908 


2.00 


7440 


.19 


74144 


2.95 


74265 


1.35 


14419 


7.95 


74C909 


2.75 


7442 


.49 


74145 


.60 


74273 


1.95 


14433 


14.95 


74C910 


9.95 


7443 


.65 


74147 


1.75 


74276 


1 25 


4502 


.95 


74C911 


8.95 


7444 


.69 


74148 


1.20 


74278 


3.11 


4503 


.65 


74C912 


8.95 


7445 


.69 


74150 


1.35 


74279 


.75 


4507 


1.25 


74C914 


1.95 


7446 


.69 


74151 


.55 


74283 


2.00 


4508 


1.95 


74C915 


1.19 


7447 


.69 


74152 


.65 


74284 


3.75 


4510 


.85 


74C918 


2.75 


7448 


69 


74153 


.55 


74285 


375 


4511 


.85 


74C920 17.95 


7450 


19 


74154 


1.25 


74290 


.95 


4512 


.85 


74C921 15.95 


7451 


.23 


74155 


75 


74293 


.75 


4514 


1.25 


74C922 


4.49 


7453 


.23 


74156 


65 


74298 


.85 


4515 


1.79 


74C923 


4.95 


7454 


.23 


74157 


.55 


74351 


225 


4516 


1.55 


74C925 


5.95 


7460 


.23 


74159 


1.65 


74365 


.65 


4518 


.89 


74C926 


7.95 


7470 


.35 


74160 


85 


74366 


65 


4519 


.39 


74C927 


7.95 


7472 


.29 


74161 


.69 


74367 


65 


4520 


79 


74C928 


7.95 


7473 


.34 


74162 


.85 


74368 


.65 


4521 


4.99 


74C929 19.95 


7474 


.33 


74163 


.69 


74376 


2.20 


4522 


1.25 


74C930 


4.95 


7475 


.45 


74164 


.85 


74390 


1.75 


4526 


1.25 


80C95 


.85 


7476 


.35 


74165 


.85 


74393 


1.35 


4527 


1 95 


80C96 


.95 


7480 


.59 


74166 


1.00 


74425 


3.15 


4528 


1.19 


80C97 


.95 


7481 


110 


74167 


2.96 


74426 


85 


4529 


2.95 


80C98 


1.20 


7482 


.95 


74170 


1.65 


74490 


2.55 


4531 


.95 







HIGH SPEED CMOS T 


A new family of high speed CMOS logic featuring | 


the speed of low 


power Schottky (8ns typical gate prop- ■ 


agation delay), c o m b i ned with the ad va ntages of C M S : ■ 


very low power consumption, superior noise immunity, | 


and improved output drive. 








74HC00 




74HC: Operate at CMOS 


logic levels and are ideal | 


for new. all-CMOS designs 






74HC00 


.59 


74HC175 


.99 1 


74HC02 


59 


74HC193 


1.25 ■ 


74HC04 


.59 


74HC194 


1.04 ■ 


74HC08 


59 


74HC195 


1.09 ■ 


74HC10 


.59 


74HC238 


1.35 ■ 


74HC11 


59 


74HC240 


1.89 ■ 


74HC14 


.79 


74HC241 


1.89 ■ 


74HC20 


.59 


74HC242 


1.89 ■ 


74HC27 


.59 


74HC243 


1.89 ■ 


74HC30 


.59 


74HC244 


1.89 ■ 


74HC32 


.69 


74HC245 


1.89 ■ 


74HC51 


.59 


74HC251 


89 ■ 


74HC74 


.75 


74HC257 


.85 ■ 


74HC75 


.85 


74HC259 


1.39 ■ 


74HC85 


1.35 


74HC273 


1.89 ■ 


74HC86 


.69 


74HC299 


4.99 ■ 


74HC93 


1.19 


74HC367 


.99 ■ 


74HC125 


1.19 


74HC373 


2.29 ■ 


74HC1 32 


1.19 


74HC374 


2.29 ^L 


74HC138 


.99 


74HC393 


1.39 ■ 


74HC139 


.99 


74HC4017 


1.99 ■ 


74HC151 


89 


74HC4020 


1.39 


74HC153 


.89 


74HC4024 


1.59 


74HC154 


2.49 


74HC4040 


1.39 


74HC157 


.89 


74HC4049 


.89 


74HC161 


1.15 


74HC4050 


.89 


74HC164 


1.25 


74HC4060 


1.29 


74HC166 


2.95 


74HC4611 


2.39 


74HC174 


.99 


74HC4538 


2.29 




74HCT00 




74HCT: Direct, drop-in replacements for LS 


TTLand 


can be intermixed with 74LS 


in the same circuit 


74HCT00 


.69 


74HCT175 


1.09 


74HCT02 


.69 


74HCT193 


1.39 


74HCT04 


69 


74HCT194 


1.19 


74HCT08 


.69 


74HCT195 


1.29 


74HCT10 


.69 


74HCT238 


1.49 


74HCT11 


.69 


74HCT240 


2.19 


74HCT14 


.89 


74HCT241 


2.19 


74HCT20 


.69 


74HCT242 


2.19 


74HCT27 


.69 


74HCT243 


2.19 


74HCT30 


.69 


74HCT244 


2.19 


74HCT32 


.79 


74HCT245 


2.19 


74HCT51 


.69 


74HCT251 


1.09 


74HCT74 


.85 


74HCT257 


.99 


74HCT75 


.95 


74HCT259 


1.59 


74HCT85 


1.49 


74HCT273 


2.09 


74HCT86 


.79 


74HCT299 


5.25 


74HCT93 


1.29 


74HCT367 


1.09 


74HCT125 


1.29 


74HCT373 


2.49 


74HCT132 


1.29 


74HCT374 


2.49 


74HCT138 


1.15 


74HCT393 


1.59 


74HCT139 


1.15 


74HCT4017 


2.19 


74HCT151 


1.05 


74HCT4020 


1.59 


74HCT153 


1.05 


74HCT4024 


1.79 


74HCT154 


2.99 


74HCT4040 


1.59 


74HCT157 


.99 


74HCT4049 


.99 


74HCT161 


1.29 


74HCT4050 


.99 


74HCT164 


1.39 


74HCT4060 


1.49 


74HCT166 


3.05 


74HCT4511 


2.69 


74HCT174 


1.09 


74HCT4538 


2.59 











BSPECTRONICS 
CORPORATION 

EPROM ERASERS 



Capacity Intensity 
Timer Chip (uW Cm'l 



TRANSISTORS 



2N918 .50 

MPS918 25 
2N2102 .75 
2N2218 50 

2N2218A .50 
2N2219 .50 
2N2219A .50 
2 N 2222 
PN2222 
MPS2369 25 
2N2484 
2N2905 
2N2907 
PN2907 
2N305S 
3055T 
2N3393 
2N3414 
2N3563 
2N3565 
PN3565 
MPS3638 .25 
MPS3640 25 
PN3643 .25 
PN3644 .25 
MPS3704 15 
MPS3706 .15 



.25 

.10 



25 
.13 
.79 

69 
.30 
.25 
.40 

40 
.25 



2N3772 1.85 
2N3903 .25 
2N3904 
2N3906 
2N4122 
2N4123 
2N4249 
2N4304 
2N4401 
2N4402 
2IM4403 
2N4857 1.00 
PN4916 .25 
2 N 5086 
PNS129 
PN5139 
2N5209 
2 N 6028 
2N6043 175 
2N6045 1.75 
MPS A05 .25 
MPS-A06 25 
MPS-A13 40 
MPS-A55 .25 
MPU-131 .99 
TIP29 .65 

TIP31 .75 

TIP32 



10 



.25 
.25 
.75 
.25 
.25 
.25 



.25 
25 
.25 
.25 

35 



IC 
SOCKETS 



I ST 
I ST 
I ST 
I ST 
I ST 
I ST 
I ST 
I ST 
I ST 



1 99 100 
.13 .11 



8 PIN 
14 PIN 
16 PIN 
18 PIN 
20 PIN 
22 PIN 
24 PIN 
28 PIN 
40 PIN 
64 PIN ST 4.25 CALL 



.15 .12 

.17 .13 

20 .18 

.29 .27 

.30 .27 

.30 .27 

.40 .32 

.49 .39 



ST-SOLDERTAIL 



8 PIN 
14 PIN 
16 PIN 
18 PIN 
20 PIN 
22 PIN 
24 PIN 
28 PIN 
40 PIN 



WW .59 .49 
WW .69 .52 
WW .69 .58 
WW .99 .90 
WW 1.09 .98 
WW 1.39 1.28 
WW 1.49 1.35 
WW 1.69 1.49 
WW 1.99 1.80 



INTERFACE 



8T26 

8T28 

8T95 

8T96 

8T97 

8T98 

DM8131 

DP8304 

DS8833 

DS8835 

DS8836 

DS8837 

DS8838 



1 59 

1 98 

.89 

69 

.89 

.89 

2.95 

2.29 

2.25 

1.99 

.99 

1.65 

1.30 



INTERSIL 

ICL7106 9.95 

ICL7107 12.95 

IC 17660 2.95 

ICL8038 3.95 

ICM7207A 5.59 

ICM7208 15.95 



PE-14 
PE-14T 
PE-24T 
PL-265T 
PR 125T 
t PR 320T 



DATAAQCT 

ADC0800 15.55 
A DC 0804 3.49 
ADC0809 4.49 
ADC0816 14.95 
ADC0817 9.95 
ADC0831 
DAC0800 
DAC0806 
DAC0808 
DAC1020 
DAC1021 
DAC1022 
MC1408L6 1.95 
MC1408L8 2.95 



25 
42 



8.95 
4.49 
1.95 
2.95 
8.25 
7.95 
5.95 



9000 

I 9304 .9! 

9316 100 

9328 1.49 

9334 2.50 

9368 3.95 

9401 9.95 

9601 .75 

9602 1.50 
9637 2.95 

L 96S02 1.95 , 



8,000 
8,000 
9,600 
9,600 
17,000 
17,000 



SOUND 
CHIPS 

76477 3.95 

76488 5.95 

76489 8.95 
SSI 263 39.95 

| AY3-8910 12.95 
AV3 8912 12.95 
MC3340 1.49 

LSP1000 39.00 



OPTO-ISOLATORS 



EXAR 



XR2206 
XR2207 
XR2208 
XR2211 
XR2240 



3.75 
3.75 
3.75 
5.25 
3.25 J 



4N26 
4N27 
4N28 
4N33 
4N35 
4N37 
MCT-2 
L MCT 6 



1.00 MCA- 7 

1.10 MCA 225 

.69 IL-1 

1.75 ILA-30 

1.25 ILQ-74 

1.25 H11C5 

1.00 TIL-111 

1.50 TIL 113 



4.25 
1.75 
1.25 
1.25 
2.75 
1.25 
1.00 
1.75 A 



WW-WIREWRAP 



MIGRODEVIC 


111 



MICROPRICES 



VOLTAGE 
REGULATORS 

TO-220 CASE PACKAGE 
7805T .75 7905T .85 

7808T .75 7908T .85 

781 2T .75 7912T .85 

781 5T .75 791 5T .85 

7824T .75 7924T .85 

TO 3 CASE PACKAGE 
7805 K 1.39 7905 K 1.49 

781 2K 139 791 2K 1.49 

7815K 1.39 7915K 1.49 

7824 K 1.39 7924 K 1.49 

TO-92 CASE PACKAGE 
78 LOS .69 79 LOS 79 

78L12 .69 79L12 .79 

78L15 .69 79 LI 5 .79 

OTHER VOLTAGE REGS 
78M05C Svoit v,amp TO 220 .35 
LM323K 5voH 3amp TO 3 4.95 

LM338K Adj 5amp TO 3 3.95 

78H05K 5voh 5amp TO 3 9.95 

78H12K 12voKSamp TO 3 9.95 
78P05K 5 volt lOamp TO 3 14.95 
UA78S40 FAIRCHILO DIP 1.95 l 





LINEAR 




LM301 


.34 


LM567 


89 


LM301H 


79 


NE570 


3.95 


LM307 


.45 


NE571 


2.95 


LM308 


.69 


NE590 


2.50 


LM308H 


1.15 


NE592 


.98 


LM309H 


1.95 


LM709 


.59 


LM309K 


1.25 


LM710 


.75 


LM310 


1.75 


LM711 


.79 


LM311 


64 


LM723 


.49 


LM311H 


.89 


LM723H 


55 


LM312H 


1.75 


LM733 


.98 


LM317K 


3.95 


LM741 


.35 


LM317T 


1.19 


LM741N-14 35 


LM318 


1.49 


LM741H 


.40 


LM318H 


1.59 


LM747 


69 


LM319H 


1.90 


LM748 


.59 


LM319 


1.25 


LM1014 


1.19 


LM320 see7900 


LM1303 


1.95 


LM322 


1.65 


LM1310 


1.49 


LM323K 


4.95 


MCI 330 


1.69 


LM324 


.59 


MCI 349 


1.89 


LM329 


.65 


MC1350 


1.19 


LM331 


3.95 


MCI 358 


1.69 


LM334 


1.19 


MC1372 


6.95 


LM335 


1.40 


LM1414 


1.59 


LM336 


1.75 


LM1458 


.59 


LM337T 


1 95 


LM1488 


.69 


LM337K 


3.95 


LM1489 


69 


LM338K 


3.95 


LM1496 


.85 


LM339 


.99 


LM1558H 


3.10 


LM340 see 7800 


LM1800 


2.37 


LM348 


.99 


LM1812 


8.25 


LM350K 


4.95 


LM1830 


3.50 


LM350T 


4.60 


LM1871 


6.49 


LM358 


.69 


LM1872 


5.49 


LM359 


1.79 


LM1877 


3.52 


LM376 


3.75 


LM1889 


1.95 


LM377 


1.95 


LM1896 


1.75 


LM378 


2.50 


ULN2003 


1.29 


LM379 


4.50 


XR2206 


3.75 


LM380 


.89 


LM2877 


2.05 


LM380N 8 1.10 


LM2878 


2.25 


LM381 


1.60 


LM2900 


.85 


LM382 


1.60 


LM2901 


1.00 


LM383 


1.95 


MPQ2907 


1.95 


LM384 


1.95 


LM2917 


2.95 


LM386 


89 


LM3900 


.59 


LM387 


1.40 


LM3905 


1.25 


LM389 


1.35 


LM3909 


98 


LM390 


1.95 


LM3911 


2.25 


LM392 


.69 


LM3914 


3.95 


LM393 


1.29 


LM3915 


3.95 


LM394H 


4.60 


LM3916 


3.95 


LM399H 


5.00 


MC4024 


3.95 


NE531 


2.95 


MC4044 


4.50 


NE555 


.34 


RC4136 


1.25 


NE556 


.65 


RC4151 


3.95 


NE558 


1.50 


LM4250 


1.75 


NE564 


2.95 


LM4500 


3.25 


LM565 


.99 


RC4558 


.69 


LM566 


1.49 


LM 13600 


1.49 






LM 13700 


1.45 


H=TO 5CA 




RCA 




CA3023 


2.75 


CA3083 


1.55 



CA3039 
CA3046 
CA3059 
CA3060 
CA3065 
CA3080 
CA3081 
CA3082 



TL494 
TL496 
TL497 
75107 
75108 
75110 
75150 
75154 
75188 
75189 



TL066 
TL071 
TL072 
TL074 
TL081 

| TL082 
TL083 

L TL084 



1.29 
1.25 
2.90 
2.90 
1.75 
1.10 
1 65 
1.65 



CA3086 
CA3089 
CA3096 
CA3130 
CA3140 
CA3146 
CA3160 
CA3183 



4.20 
1.65 
3.25 
1.49 
1.49 
1.95 
1.95 
1.95 
1.25 
1.25 



Tl 



75365 
75450 
75451 
75452 
75453 
75454 
75491 
75492 
75493 
75494 



BIFET 

.99 LF347 



.79 
1.19 
2.19 

.79 
1.19 
1.19 
219 



LF351 
LF353 
LF355 
LF356 
LF357 
LF411 
LF412 



.80 
2.99 
3.49 
1.30 

1.15 

1.85 

1.19 

.99 



1.95 
.59 
.39 
.39 
.39 
.39 
.79 
.79 
.89 



2.19 
.60 
1.00 
1.10 
1.10 
1.40 
1.29 
1.99 i 



nghr 1984 JDR Microa 



Inquiry 162 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 473 



RS232 O OR 

FEMALE SOLDER CUP L,LO 



DB25P 



RS232 
MALE SOLDER CUP 



1.90 



BARGAIN HUNTERS CORNER 
BMC BX-BO PRINTER 

• 80 CPS DOT MATRIX PRINTER 

• PRINTS BI-DIRECTIONAL IN 40, 80, 
71 OR 142 COLUMNS IN NORMAL, 
DOUBLE WIDTH OR COMPRESSED 
TEXT. 

• PRINT SUPERSCRIPT AS WELL AS 
SUPERB GRAPHICS IN CHARACTER 
OR BIT IMAGE. 



$199.95 

SPECIAL ENDS 3/31/85 




RF 
MODULATOR 

(ASTECUM1082) 

QUANTITIES LIMITED 

* PRESETTOCHANNEL3 

* USE TO BUILO TV- 
COMPUTER INTERFACE 

* +5 VOLT OPERATION 



$6.95 




HARD TO FIND 
SNAPABLE HEADERS 

Can easily be snapped apart to make 
any size header, all with .1" centers 
1x36 STRAIGHT LEAD .99 

2x40 STRAIGHT LEAD 2.49 

2x40 RIGHT ANGLE 2.99 

SHORTING BLOCKS 

SPACED AT V CENTERS 

IDEAL FOR DISK DRIVES 

OR ANY .1" HEADER 

5/1.00, 



DIP 
SWITCHES 

4 POSITION .8! 

5 POSITION 9< 

6 POSITION .91 

7 POSITION 9! 

8 POSITION .9! 

L 10 POSITION 1.29 J 



VIDEO RF OUT 



EDGECARD 
CONNECTORS 



S-100 3.95 
S 100 4.95 



6.95 



S-100 ST 
S-100 WW 
72 PIN ST 
72 PIN WW 
62 PIN ST IBM PC 4.95 
50 PIN ST APPLE 4.95 
44 PIN ST 
L 44 PIN WW 



36 PIN CENTRONICS 



IDCEN36 
IDCEN36 
vCEN36 



RIBBON CABLE MALE 
RIBBON CABLE FEMALE 
SOLDER CUP MALE 



8 95 
8 95 
7.95 



DIP CONNECTORS 



DESCRIPTION 


ORDER BY 


CONTACTS 


a 


14 


16 


18 


20 


22 


24 


28 


40 


HIGH RELIABILITY TOOLED 
ST IC SOCKETS 


AUGATxxST 


.99 


.99 


99 


1 69 


1.89 


1.89 


1.99 


2.49 


2.99 


HIGH RELIABILITY TOOLED 
WW IC SOCKETS 


AUGATxxWW 


1.30 


1.80 


2.10 


2.40 


2.50 


2.90 


3.15 


3.70 


5.40 


COMPONENT CARRIES 
(DIP HEADERS) 


ICCxx 


.49 


.59 


.69 


.99 


.99 


.99 


.99 


1.09 


1.49 


RIBBON CABLE 
DIP PLUGS (IDC) 


IDPxx 




.95 


95 








1.75 




2.95 



EMI FILTER 

• MAJOR MANUFACTURER 

■ LOW COST 

i FITS LC HP BELOW 

$4.95 



<C 



LINE CORDS 

| LC-2 2 CONDUCTOR 6 ft .39 

LC-3 3 CONDUCTOR 6 ft .99 

| LC-HP 3 CONDUCTOR WITH STANDARD 

FEMALE SOCKET 6 ft 1.49 

| LC-CIR CIGARETTE LIGHTER 

PLUG WITH 6 ft COILED CORD 2.95 

MUFFIN FANS 

I 4.68" SQUARE 1 

L 3" SQUARE 1 



RESISTORS 

% WATT 5% CARBON FILM 

ALL STANDARD VALUES 

FROM 1 OHM TO 10 MEG OHM 

50 PIECES SAME VALUE .025 

100 PIECES SAME VALUE .02 

L 1000 PIECES SAME VALUE .015 



BYPASS CAPS 

01 ,t DISC 100 S 6 00 

I 01 (A MONOLITHIC 100 512. 00 

1 t DISC 100 S 8 00 

.1 /jf MONOLITHIC 100 SI 5 00 J 



| 1N751 
1N759 
1N4148 

| 1N4001 
IN 4004 

I IN 5402 
KBP02 
KBP04 



DIODES 



TO-220 

TO-220 

TO-3 

TO-220 

TO-3 



51 VOLT ZENER 
12 VOLT ZENER 
(1N914)S WITCHING 25. 
50PIV 1A 12/ 

400PIV RECTIFIER 10' 
20OPIV 3A 
200PIV 1 5A BRIDGE 
400PIV 1 5 A BRIDGE 
50PIV 12A BRIDGE 
50PIV 12A BRIDGE 
10OPIV 12A BRIDGE 
DIP BRIDGE 



HEAT SINKS 

SCREW ON 
CLIP ON 
SCREW ON 
INSULATOR 
INSULATOR 



.25 

.25 

1.00 

1.00 

1.00 

.25 

.45 

.55 

1.39 

1.95 

2.25 



10 1.00 
10/1.00 



FOR ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS SEE IDC CONNECTORS BELOW 



SWITCHES 

SPOT MINI TOGGLE ON ON 
DPDT MINI-TOGGLE ON ON 
DPDT MINI TOGGLE ON-OFF-ON 
SPST MINI PUSHBUTTON N.O. 
, SPST MINI PUSHBUTTON N.C 
L BCD OUT 10 POSITION 6 PIN DIP 



1 25 
1.50 
1,75 
39 
39 
1.9! 



I.O^f 



CAPACITORS 

TANTALUM 



15V 

15V .70 
10 15V .80 
22 15V 1.35 
.22 35V .40 



.47/jf 35V .50 

1.0 35V .45 

2.2 35V .65 

4.7 35V .85 

10 35 V 1.00 







DISC 






lOpf 


50V 


.05 


560 


50V 


05 


22 


50V 


05 


680 


50V 


05 


25 


50V 


05 


820 


50V 


05 


27 


50V 


05 


001//f 


50V 


.05 


33 


50V 


05 


.0015 


50V 


05 


47 


50V 


05 


.0022 


50V 


.05 


56 


50V 


05 


.005 


50V 


05 


68 


50V 


05 


.01 


50V 


07 


82 


50V 


05 


02 


50V 


07 


100 


50V 


05 


05 


50V 


.07 


220 


50V 


05 


1 


12V 


10 



MONOLITHIC 

.01//f 50V .14 .1/d 50V .18 

,047/yf 50V .15 47^jf 50V .25 

ELECTROLYTIC 



RADIAL 
I Ijft 25V 

35V 
50V 
50V 
35V 
16V 
35V 
25V 



10 
I * 7 

100 
I 220 

470 

2200 



COMPUTER 
GRADE 

L 44,000^/f 30V 3.95 



.30 
16V .60 



22 

47 

100 

100 

220 

330 

550 

1000 

2200 

6000 



AXIAL 
50V 

16V 
16V 
50V 



15V 
35V 

25V 
16V 
16V 
16V 
16V 
16V 



LED DISPLAYS 



HP5082 7760 
MAN -72 

MAN 74 
FND 357(359! 
FND 500(503) 
FND-507(510> 



43" 
3 



CC 

CA 

CC 

CC .375" 1.25 

CC .5" 1.49 

CA .5" 



1.29 
.99 
.99 



1.49 



L TIL-311 4x7 HEX W LOGIC .270' 9.95 . 



DIFFUSED LEDS 

1-99 100 up I 
JUMBO RED TV, .10 .09 

JUMBO GREEN T1 V* .18 .15 

JUMBO YELLOW T1 V» .18 .15 

MOUNTING HDW T1V* .10 .09 



MINI RED T1 .10 

MINI GREEN T1 18 

| MINI YELLOW T1 .18 

RECT RED 2x5mm .25 

RECT GREEN 2x5mm .30 

l RECT YELLOW 2x5mm .30 



09 



27 
.27 





D-SUBMINIATURE 








DESCRIPTION 


ORDER BY 


CONTACTS 


9 


15 


25 


37 


50 


SOLDER CUP 


MALE 


DBxxP 


1.19 


1.59 


1.90 


2.85 


4.25 


FEMALE 


DBxxS 


1.50 


1.85 


2.25 


3.90 


5.25 


RIGHT ANGLE 
PC SOLDER 


MALE 


DBxxPR 


1.65 


2.20 


3.00 


4.83 




FEMALE 


DBxxSR 


2.18 


3.03 


3.00 


6.19 




WIRE WRAP 


MALE 


DBxkPWW 


1.69 


2.56 


3.89 


5.60 




FEMALE 


DBxxSWW 


2.76 


4.27 


6.84 


9.95 




IDC RIBBON CABLE 


MALE 


IDBxxP 


2.95 


3.90 


4.75 


6.95 




FEMALE 


IDBxxS 


3.25 


4.29 


5.25 


7.95 




HOODS 


BUCK 


MOOD B 






.99 






GftEV 


H66b 


.89 


.99 


99 


1.09 


1.19 



MOUNTING HARDWARE si 00 

FOR ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS SEE IDC CONNECTORS BELOW 



«B 




TEXTOOLZERO INSERTION FORCE 
SOCKETS AND RECEPTACLES 




SCREWDRIVER CLAMP 
ECONOZIF 


LEVER CLAMP 
ZIF SOCKET 


WW RECEPTACLES 
ZIF RECEPTACLE 


TYPE 


CONTACTS 


14 


16 


24 


28 


40 


ECONOZIF 




4.95 


6.75 


775 


9.95 


ZIF SOCKET 


495 


4.95 


5.95 


6 95 { 


9.95 


ZIF RECEPTACLE 


8.25 







IDC CONNECTORS 



DESCRIPTION 


ORDER BY 


CONTACTS 


10 


20 


26 


34 


40 


50 


SOLDER HEADER 


IDHxxS 


.82 


1.29 


1.68 


2.20 


2.58 


3.24 


RIGHT ANGLE SOLDER HEADER 


IDHxxSR 


.85 


1 35 


1.76 


2.31 


2.72 


3.39 


WW HEADER 


IDHxxW 


1.86 


2 98 


3.84 


4.50 


528 


6.63 


RIGHT ANGLE WW HEADER 


IDHxxWR 


205 


3.28 


4.22 


445 


480 


7.3d 


RIBBON HEADER SOCKET 


IDSxx 


.79 


.99 


1.39 


1.53 


1.99 


2.25 


RIBBON HEADER 


IDMxx 




5.50 


6.25 


7.66 


756 


850 


RIBBON EDGE CARD 


IDExx 


1.75 


S.2S 


2.65 


2.75 


380 


3.95 




RIBBON CABLE 



ORDERING INSTUCTIONS: INSERT THE NUMBER OF CONTACTS IN THE POSITION MARKED "km" OF THE 
"ORDER BY" PART NUMBER LISTED. EXAMPLE: A tO PIN RIGHT ANGLE HOLDER STYLE WOULD BE IDH10SR 



CONTACTS 


SINGLE COLOR 


COLOR CODED 


1" 


10' 


r 


10' 


10 


.18 


1.60 


.83 


7.30 


16 


.28 


2.50 


1.00 


8.80 


20 


.36 


3.20 


1.25 


11.00 


25 


.45 


4.00 


1.32 


11.60 


26 


.46 


4.10 


1.32 


11.60 


34 


.61 


5.40 


1.65 


14.50 


40 


.72 


6.40 


1.92 


16.80 


50 


.89 


7.50 


2.50 


22 00 



*:JDR Microdevices 
1224 S. Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128 
800-538-5000 • 800-662-6279 (CA) • (408) 995-5430 
FAX (408) 275-8415 • Telex 171-110 



RETAIL STORE - 1256 S. BASCOM AVENUE 
HOURS: M-W-F. 9-5 TU-TH, 9-9 SAT, 10-3 

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING 

TERMS: Minimum order $10.00. For shipping and handling include 
S2.50 lor UPS Ground and S3.50 lor UPS Air. Orders over 1 lb and 
foreign orders may require additional shipping charges - please 
contact our sales department for the amount. CA. residents must 
include 6% sales tax. Bay Area and LA residents include 6W/o. All 
merchandise is warranted for 90 days unless otherwise stated. Prices 
are subject to change without notice. We are not responsible for 
typographical errors. We reserve the right to limit quantities and to 
substitute manufacturer. All merchandise subject to prior sale. 



Copyright 1984 JDR Mic 



474 BYTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



Inquiry 163 



IBM PC PROTOTYPE CARD 



WITH DECODING CIRCUITRY 



$29.95 



WIRE WRAP 
PROTOTYPE CARDS 

FR-4 EPOXY GLASS LAMINATE 
WITH GOLD-PLATED EDGE-CARD FINGERS 




IBM 



BOTH CARDS HAVE SILK SCREENED LEGENDS 
AND INCLUDES MOUNTING BRACKET 
R1 WITH <5V AND GROUND PLANE .... $27.95 
R2 AS ABOVE WITH DECODING CIRCUITRY $29.95 



S-100 



P100-1 
P100-2 
PI 00-3 
PI 00-4 



BARE - NO FOIL PADS $15.15 

HORIZONTAL BUS $21.80 

VERTICAL BUS $21.80 

SINGLE FOIL PADS PER HOLE $22.75 



DISK DRIVES 

TAN DON 

TM 100-1 5W (FOR IBM) SS/DD $199.00 

TNI 100-2 6W (FOR IBM) DS/DD $199.95 

MP I 

MPI-B52 5W (FOR IBM) DS/DD 

TEAC 

FD 55 B ! 
FD-55F v 

SHUGART 

SA 400 L 5' 4" {40 TRACK) SS/DD 
SA 460 5W (80 TRACK) DS/QUAD 

8" DISK DRIVES 

FD100-8 BY SIEMENS, SHUGART 801 EQUIV. 

SS/DD 10/ $129 95 ea. $149.95 
FD200-8 BY SIEMENS, SHUGART 851 EQUIV. 

DS/DD 10/5185.00 ea. $$195.00 

JFORMAT-2 $49.95 

SUPPORT FOR QUAD DENSITY DRIVES 
FROM TALL TREE SYSTEMS 



$139.95 



$139.95 
$200.00 



$199.95 
$199.95 




TAN DON TM 100 2 



PLEASE INCLUDE SUFFICE NT AMOUNT FOR SHIPPING ON ABOVE ITEMS 



DISK DRIVE 
CABINETS 

CABINET #1 $29.95 

* Fits one full height 5' V disk drive 

* Color matches Apple 

CABINET #2 $79.00 

* Fits one full height 5' V disk drive 

* Complete with power supply, switch, 
line cord, fuse and standard power 
connector 

* Please specify Grey or Tan 

CABINET #3 $89.95 

* Fits two half height 5%"disk drives 

* Complete with power supply, switch, 
line cord, fuse and standard power 
connectors 

8" DISK DRIVE CABINETS 
ALSO AVAILABLE- PLEASE CALL 

PLEASE INCLUDE SUFFICIENT 
AMOUNT FOR SHIPPING ON ABOVE ITEMS 



APPLE 



P500-1 
P500 3 
P500-4 
7060-45 



P441 
P441 
P441 
P442 
P442 
P442 



P72V 
P721 
P721 
P722 
P722 
P722 



BARE NO FOIL PADS S15.15 

HORIZONTAL BUS S2J.75 

SINGLE FOIL PADS PER HOLE $21.80 

FOR APPLE He AUX SLOT $30.00 

GENERAL PURPOSE 

22/44 PIN EDGE-CARD (.156" SPACING) 

BARE NO FOIL PADS 4.5 " k 6.0" $9.45 

VERTICAL BUS 4.5" x 6.0" $13.95 

SINGLE FOIL PADS 4.5" x 6.0" $14.20 

BARE NO FOIL PADS 4,5" x 9.0" .... $10.40 

VERTICAL BUS 4.5" x 9.0" $14.20 

SINGLE FOIL PADS 4.5" x 9.0" $13.50 

36/72 PIN EDGE-CARD (.V SPACING) 

BARE - NO FOIL PADS 4.5" x 6.0" $9.45 

VERTICAL BUS 4.5" x 6.0" $13.25 

SINGLE FOIL PADS 4.5" x 6.0" $14.20 

BARE - NO FOIL PADS 4.5" x 9.0" .... 510,40 

VERTICAL BUS 4.5" x 9.0" $14.20 

SINGLE FOIL PADS 4.5" x 9.0" $15.15 



SWITCHING 
POWER SUPPLIES 




PS IBM $175.00 

* FOR IBM PC-XT COMPATIBLE 

* 1 30 WATTS 

* +5V @ 15A, + 12V @ 4.2A 
-5V(S>.5A. -12V@.5A 

* ONE YEAR WARRANTY 



PS-A 



$49.95 



- USE TO POWER APPLE TYPE 
SYSTEMS 

- +5V @ 4A, +12V @ 2.5 A 
-5V@.5A, -12V@.5A 

i APPLE POWER CONNECTOR 



PS-3 



$39.95 



BARE GLASS BOARDS 

NO EDGE -CARD FINGERS OR FOIL 



EXTENDER 
CARDS 



P25x45 

P45x65 

P45x85 

P45x170 

i P85x170 



2.5" « 4.5" 
4.5" x 6.5" 
4.5" x8.5" 
4.5" x 17.0" 
8.5" x 17.0" 



$2.40 

$4.70 

$6.20 

$11.35 

$18.95 



IBM 

APPLE 

MULTIBUS 



$45.00 
$45.00 
$86.00 




WIRE WRAP WIRE 

PRECUT AND STRIPPED 

Note: 1 inch of insulation is stripped on 
I each end. A 3.5" wire has only 1 .5" of insu- 



LENGTH 




QUANTITY 




(INCHES 


100 


500 


1000 


2.5 


1.60 


4.70 


8.20 


3 


1.60 


4.70 


8.20 


3.5 


1.65 


5.00 


8.90 


4 


1.75 


5.40 


9.60 


4.5 


1.80 


5.75 


10.30 


5 


1.85 


6.10 


11.00 


55 


1,90 


6.50 


11.75 


6 


2.00 


6.85 


12.50 


6.5 


230 


7.80 


1430 


7 


2.40 


8.20 


15.05 


7.5 


2.50 


8.55 


15.85 


8 


2.60 


8.95 


1660 


8.5 


2.65 


9.30 


17.40 


9 


2.70 


9.80 


18.15 


9.5 


2.80 


10.00 


18.95 


10 


2.90 


10.50 


19.70 


PRECUT ASSORTMENT 


IN ASSORTED COLORS 


$27,50 


100ea:5.5 


, 6", 6.5", 7 






250ea: 2. 5", 4.5", 5" 






500ea:3", 3.5", 4" 






SPOOLS 




1 00 feet 


$4.30 


250 feet 


$7.25 


500 feet 


$13.25 


1000 feet 


$21 95 




Please specify color: 




Blue, Black, 


Yellow or Red 







TRANSFORMERS ^ 
FRAME STYLE 

12.6V AC 2 AMP 4.95 
12.6V ACCT 2 AMP 5.95 
12.6V ACCT 4 AMP 7.95 
12.6V ACCT 8 AMP 10.95 
25.2V AC CT 2 AMP 7.95 



PLUG CASE STYLE 

12V AC 250ma 3.95 

12V AC 500ma 4 95 

12V AC 1 AMP 5.95 

12V AC 2 AMP 6.95 

DC ADAPTER 

6, 9, 12V DC SELECTABLE WITH 



L UNIVERAL ADAPTER 



8.95 . 



* AS USED IN APPLE III 

* +5V @ 4A, +12V @ 2.5A 
- -5V @ 25A, -12V @ 30A, 

* 15.5" x 4.5" x 2". .884 LBS. 

PS-ASTEC $19.95 

* CAN POWER TWO 5W FDDS 

* +5V @ 2.5A, <T2V <5> 2A 
-12V @ .1A 

* +5V @ 5A IF +12V IS NOT USED 

* 6.3" x 4.0" x 1.9" 



MICROCOMPUTER 
HARDWARE 
HANDBOOK 

FROM ELCOMP $14.95 

| Over 800 pages of manufacturer' s 
data sheets on the most commonly 
used IC's 

* TTL - 74, 74LS & 74 F 

* CMOS 

* Voltage regulators 

* Memory RAM, ROM, EPROM 

* CPU'S ■ 6800, 6500. Z80, 
8080, 8085 8. 8086/8 

+ MPU Support & Interface, 
6800, 6500, Z80, 8200, etc. 



OK INDUSTRIES 

EX-1 IC EXTRACTION TOOL 

i ONE PIECE METAL CONSTRUCTION 
i EASILY EXTRACTS 8-24 PIN DEVICES 
* LOW COST $2.19 



EX-2 IC EXTRACTION TOOL 

* EXTRACTS 24-40 PIN DEVICES 

* HEAVY DUTY METAL CONSTRUCTION 

* GROUND LUGS FOR MOS EXTRACTIONS 

* EASY ONE HAND OPERATION $1 2.74 

IC INSERTION TOOLS 

INS 1416 for 14-16 pin IC's $5.15 

MOS 1416 for 14-16 pin IC's $10.92 
MOS 2428 for 24-28 pin IC's $10.92 
MOS 40 for 40 pin IC's $12.43 

MOS series insertion tools have metal constuction 
and include grounding lug for CMOS applications. 

BW-630 WIRE WRAP GUN 

* BATTERY POWERED USES 2 Nl CAD 
C CELLS(NOT INCLUDED) 

* POSITIVE INDEXING 

* ANTI-OVERWRAP DEVICE $41 .55 

WSU-30 WIRE WRAP TOOLS 

* WRAPS. STRIPS, AND UNWRAPS 

* WSU-30M WRAPS AN EXTRA TURN OF 
INSULATION 

WSU-30 $8.84 WSU-30M $10.14 



INS-1416 INS-2428 



WIRE WRAP TERMINALS 



WWT-1 
WWT-2 
WWT-3 
WWT-4 
IMS 1 



SLOTTED 
SINGLE SIDED 
IC SOCKET 
DOUBLE SIDED 
INSERTION TOOL 



25/S7.06 

25/$4.25 

25/87.06 

25/2.80 

$3.64 



VISA 



ORDER TOLL FREE 



(CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS) 



WIRE DISPENSER 

* WITH 50' ROLL OF WIRE 

* BUILT IN PLUNGER CUTS WIRE 

* BUILT IN STRIPPER STRIPES 1" 

* REFILLABLE 

| WD-30 $6.50 WD 30TRI $9.50 

Specify Blue, white. With 50' of each: 
Yellow or Red Red, Blue and White 

SOCKET-WRAP LD.™ 

* SLIPS OVER WIRE WRAP PINS 

* IDENTIFIES PIN NUMBERS ON WRAP 
SIDE OF BOARD 

* CAN WRITE ON PLASTIC; SUCH AS IC # 




>INS 


PART# 


PCK. OF 


PRICE 


8 


IDWRAP 08 


10 


1.95 


14 


IDWRAP 14 


10 


1.95 


16 


IDWRAP 16 


10 


1.95 


18 


IDWRAP 18 


5 


1.95 


20 


IDWRAP 20 


5 


1.95 


22 


IDWRAP 22 


5 


1.95 


24 


IDWRAP 24 


5 


1.95 


28 


IDWRAP 28 


5 


1.95 


40 


IDWRAP 40 


5 


1.95 


PLEASE ORDER BY NUMBER OF 




PACKAGES (PCK. OF) 





E" 






GE NICKEL CADIUM 
RECHARGABLE BATTERIES 

Nl CAD CHARGER PACKAGE 

PRICE INCLUDES CHARGER (WALL PLUG), 
BATTERIES. & MODULAR BATTERY HOLDER 
AAA CELLS OTY. 2 $11.71 

AA CELLS OTY. 2 $11.71 

C CELLS QTY. 2 $13.21 

D CELLS OTY. 2 $13.21 

9 VOLT OTY. 1 $13.21 

BATTERIES ONLY 




AAA CELLS 


PKG. 2 


$6.07 pr. 


AA CELLS 


PKG. 1 


$3.03 ea. 


C CELLS 


PKG. 1 


$3.78 ea. 


D CELLS 


PKG. 1 


$3.78 ea. 


9 VOLT 


PKG. 1 


S7.57 ea. 



20 MHz DUAL TRACE 
OSCILLOSCOPE 

FROM 
RAMSEY ELECTRONICS 

UNSURPASSED QUALITY AT AN UNBEATABLE PRICE 

» BAND WIDTH- DC: DC TO 20MHz (-3db) 

AC: 10Hz TO 20MHz (-3db) 

* SWEEP TIME- 2 ,SEC TO .5 SEC DIV ON 20 RANGES 

. VERT. HORZ. DEFLECTION: 5mV TO 20V/DIV ON 20 RANGES 

* COMPLETE MANUAL AND HIGH QUALITY 
HOOK-ON PROBES INCLUDED 

* INPUT IMPEDANCE: 1 MEG OHM 

* TV VIDEO SYNC FILTER 

* X, Y AND Z AXIS OPERATION 

* 110/220 VOLT 50 60Hz OPERATION 

* COMPONENT TESTER 

* LPCONSUMPTION-19 WATTS 

* BUILT IN CALIBRATOR 

* AUTOMATIC OR TRIGGERED TIMEBASE 



$399.95 

WITH PROBES 

FULL ONE YEAR 
WARRANTY 



MULTIMETER PEN 




AUTO RANGING, POLARITY & DECIMAL! 



LARGE 3V» DIGIT DISPLAY 
■ DATA HOLD SWITCH FREEZES READING 

• FAST, AUDIBLE CONTINUITY TEST 
LOW BATTERY INDICATOR 
OVERLOAD PROTECTION 

rONLYtV 8 "x6V4"xV«" 

• DC VOLTS 1mV-500V 
AC VOLTS 1mV-500V 
.1 OHM 20 MEG OHMS 
WEIGHS ONLY 2.3 OUNCES 

LOW PARTS COUNT-CUSTOM 80 PIN LSI INSURES RELIABILITY 
INCLUDES MANUAL, BATTERIES, SOFT CASE, 2 PROBE TIPS, 
AND ALLIGATOR CLIP 



>£F corporation 



ONLY 
$49.95 



Copyright 1984 JDR Mic 



Inquiry 163 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 475 



EPROM PROGRAMMER 

FOR APPLE COMPUTERS 

RP525 $79.95 

* LOW COST 

* DUPLICATE OR BURN ANY 
STANDARD 2700 SERIES EPROM 

* MENU DRIVEN SOFTWARE 
INCLUDED-NO ADDITIONAL 
SOFTWARE REQUIRED 

* AUTOMATIC SELECTION FOR 
271 6, 2732, 2732A, 2764 8. 271 28 

* LED INDICATORS FOR ACTIVITY 

* HIGH SPEED WRITE ALGORITHM 
i NO EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY 



MPI-B52W*" 139.95 




MAXIMIZE YOUR IBM PC OR XTI 

MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY-AM of the most asked for sup- 
port features on one card plus SOFTDISK and SPOOL 
software to increase your PC's productivity! 

MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE PER DOLLAR-Compare fea 
tures with the best selling multifunction card and save 1 

MAXIMUM RELIABILITY-The MAXIMIZER features the 
highest quality 4-LAYER board construction, sockets 
for all RAM. and is backed by a tulll 

ONE YEAR WARRANTY 



r SIGMA DESIGNS, INC. 



$ 259 95 

(64K) 



COMPIREI 



MAXIMIZER AST6-PACK+ 2nd Serial Port 



Maximum Memory 
RS 232 Serial 
Parallel Port 
Clock Calendar 
Game Adaptor 



YES 
Optional 



with optional 128K MAXISTACK 
' second serial port ODttcmai 



OPTIONS: 

49.95 I 

29195 

153.95 

Additional 64K Ram M.95 J 



Game Adaptor 
128K Maxistack 



APPLE ACCESSORIES 



BAL-525 
$139.95 

Vi HEIGHT -ALPS MECHANISM 
100% APPLE COMPATIBLE 
FULL 1 YEAR WARRANTY 




j^^ B^V BAL-500 
I «™ $169.95 



r TEAC MECHANISM DIRECT DRIVE 
r 100% APPLE COMPATIBLE-35 TRACK 
r 40 TRACK WHEN USED WITH 
OPTIONAL CONTROLLER 



^y 1 




S ) 








MIT AC 


\mmma 


^.^mmmmq 




© i^H 


AD-1 
$179.95 




DISKETTE FILE 
$8.95 



IF PURCHASED 

WITH 50 DISKETTES 

OR MORE 



$9.95 IF PURCHASED ALONE 

BY DEALING DIRECT WITH THE 

FACTORY, WE CAN MAKE THIS 

UNBEATABLE OFFER 

* ATTRACTIVE, SMOKED ACRYLIC CASE WITH 
SIX INDEXED DIVIDERS 

* RUGGED, HIGH QUALITY 
CONSTRUCTION 

* HOLDS 70 5V4" 
DISKETTES, 
WITH ROOM 
TO SPARE 




* FULL HEIGHT SHUGART 
MECHANISM 

* DIRECT REPLACEMENT FOR APPLE 
DISK II 

JDR 16K 

RAM CARD 

$39-95 

BARE PC CARD AMD INSTUCTIONS $9.95 

* 2 YEAR WARRANTY 

* EXPAND YOUR 48K APPLE TO 64K 

* USE IN PLACE OF APPLE LANGUAGE 

CARD 

OTHER ACCESSORIES 

BMC BX-80 $249.00 

CONTROLLER CARD $49.95 

VIEWMAX-80 $159.95 

VIEWMAX-80e $129.95 

GRAPHMAX $129.95 

THUIMDERCLOCK $129.95 

KRAFT JOYSTICK $39.95 

POWER SUPPLY $49.95 

ZVM-123 GREEN MON $105.00 



"NASHUA DISKETTES 

5 1 /4" SOFT SECTOR 

DOUBLE SIDED, DOUBLE DENSITY 

WITH HUB RINGS 

BULK PACKAGED IN FACTORY SEALED BAGS 
OF 50. INCLUDES DISKETTE SLEEVES AND 
WRITE PROTECT TABS. IDEAL FOR SCHOOLS, 
CLUBS, AND USERS GROUPS.THIS ISA SPECIAL 
PURCHASE, QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED. 
5 YEAR WARRANTY. 



$1.39ea. 

QTY250 



QTY100 



$1.58ea. 

QTY50 



NASHUA DISKETTES WERE JUDGED TO HAVE THE HIGHEST 
POLISH AND RECORDED AMPLITUDE OF ANY DISKETTES TESTED. 
(SEE "COMPARING FLOPPY DISKS", BYTE9/84) 



DISK DRIVES FOR YOUR IBM 

MPI 52B 

(same as Tandon) 

$139.95 



TEAC FD55B 
VzHEIGHT 



BMC AU9191U COLOR MON $279^00 M $139,95 



SJfSJDR Microdevices 

■■ 1224 S. Bascom Avenue, San Jose, C A 95128 
800-538-5000 • 800-662-6279 (CA) • (408) 995-5430 



FAX (408) 275-8415 • Telex 171-110 



TANDON 
TM 100-2 

$199.95 



WANT TO ADD 
AN INTERNAL 

HARD DISK 

DRIVE TO YOUR 

IBM PC? 

...BUT DISCOVER 
THAT YOUR POWER 

SUPPLY CANT 
HANDLE THE LOAD? 

JDR HAS CAREFULLY 
SELECTED THE HIGHEST 

QUALITY FULLY IBM 
COMPATIBLE POWER 

SUPPLY AVAILABLE. 

COMPARE 

THESE FEATURES 

* XT COMPATIBLE 

* 1 YEAR WARRANTY 
HIGH QUALITY 
CONSTRUCTION 
PLUG COMPATIBLE 
CONNECTORS 

c FJTS INTO EXSISTING 
MOUNTING HOLES 

r SOLID 130 WATT OUTPUT 

+5V@15A + 12V@4.2A 

5V@.5A 12V@.5A 




$175.00 
VERBATIM 

DATALIFE DISKETTES 

SS/DD SOFT $29.95 

SS/DD 10 SECTOR $29.95 

k DS/DD SOFT $34.95 



Copyright 1984 JDR Microdevices 



RETAIL STORE - 1256 S. BASCOM AVENUE 
HOURS: M-W-F, 9-5 TU-TH, 9-9 SAT, 10-3 

PLEASE USE YOUR CUSTOMER NUMBER WHEN ORDERING 

TERMS: Minimum order $10.00. For shipping and handling includ 
$2.50 for UPS Ground and $3.50 for UPS Air. Orders over 1 lb. and 
foreign orders may require additional shipping charges - please 
contact our sales department for the amount. CA. residents must 
include 6% sales tax, Bay Area and LA residents include 6 Wo. All 
merchandise is warranted for 90 days unless otherwise stated. Prices 
are subject to change without notice. We are not responsible for 
typographical errors. We reserve the right to limit quantities and to 
substitute manufacturer. All merchandise subject to prior sale. 

APPLE IS A TRADEMARK OF APPLE COMPUTER CO. 



476 BYTE • FEBKUARY 1985 



Inquiry I64 



UNCLASSIFIED ADS 



NEEDED: Information on or public-domain software 
for Commodore 64 to develop educational and 
social skills of mentally handicapped adults. Also, 
we will share the programs we have developed. Mrs. 
M. Worsman. Pennine House, 39 Well St.. Bradford. 
West Yorkshire BD1 5RE. England. 

WANTED: Information on computers/hardware to 
videotape high-resolution/double high-resolution 
drawings and animation without flickering. Want 
equipment to transform signal to NTSC or computer 
with such capability (now using an Apple He and 
Add Wor board that does not generate true NTSC 
output). Marianne Unger. 1313 Good St.. Reading. 
PA 19602. 

NEEDED: Tax-deductible donation of computers 
(Apple II, IBM PC or compatible), monitors, and 
printers for Appalachian students in biology and 
pre-medicine. Shipping will be paid. Dr. H. W. 
Elmore, Department of Biology, Marshall University. 
Huntington, WV 2 5701 . (304) 696-3638 or 696-3 1 48. 

WANTED: Donation of a Macintosh or Apple He to 
be used by Miss Pantipa lsaramongkolpant. Multi- 
ple Cropping Project, Faculty of Agriculture, 
Chiangmai University, Thailand 50002. For shipping 
fee and arrangements, call John Dennis (Department 
of Rural Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca. NY 
14850) at (607) 2 56-3159. 

WANTED: Tax-exempt, nonprofit organization work- 
ing with teenagers seeks donation of personal com- 
puter equipment for word processing. Fully tax- 
deductible. Will pay shipping. Especially interested 
in letter-quality printer. Northwest Indiana Youth for 
Christ, POB 537. Valparaiso. IN 46383. 

WANTED: Private elementary school seeks to pur- 
chase Apple 11 + at low cost or receive as donation. 
Dr. Peter Hulick. lames River Day School. 5039 
Boonsboro Rd.. Lynchburg, VA 24503. 

NEEDED: Boy Scout Troop #397 seeks tax-deductible 
donation of Apple II, IBM PC. Kaypro or compati- 
ble. Troop #397, 243 42nd St., Copiague. NY 1 1726. 

WANTED: Educational institution seeks tax- 
deductible donations of microcomputer, disk drives, 
monitor, and printer. Cardozo Computer Users' 
Group. Cardozo School of Law, 55 Fifth Ave., New 
York. NY 10003. 

WANTED: Nonprofit publisher of Education Weefe 
newspaper needs PC and Apple computers and pe- 
ripherals of all types in exchange for tax benefit and 
printed recognition. Janice Lopez, Education Weefe, 
1255 Twenty-third St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. 
(202) 466-5190. 

NEEDED: Nonprofit state college art department with 
computer graphics skills needs graphics equipment 
to update curriculum and improve student employ- 
ment profile. Anything will do: CPUs, RGB monitors, 
video input, printers, disk drives, plotters, graphics 
tablets, and video film recorder. Desmond McLean. 
Art Department. Memorial Hall, Glassboro State 
College. Glassboro, N] 08028. (609) 863-7366/7081. 

WANTED: Charitable nonprofit organization seeks 
donation of computers, peripherals, printers, moni- 
tors, terminals, disk drives, memory expansion, etc. 
Certified tax-deductible receipts furnished. Will pay 
reasonable shipping. Holdeman International. POB 
329. West Point. MS 39773. 

WANTED: Tax-exempt, nonprofit educational 
organization seeks donation of microcomputers and 
peripherals. Donation is tax-deductible, will provide 
receipts and pay reasonable shipping. Baton Rouge 
Astronomical Society. 11683 Flamingo Dr.. Baton 
Rouge, LA 70814. 

WANTED: Information on an available cut-sheet 
feeder that accommodates 1 1 -inch-wide paper and 
fits a Brother HR-35 printer. Michael L. Cook. 3318 
Wimberg Ave.. Evansville. IN 47712. 

FOR SALE: BYTE, September 1975 through 
December 1984. 112 consecutive issues. Best offer 
for all. R. F. Nichol, 2 5747 Date St.. San Bernardino 
CA 92404, (714) 862-1252. 

WANTED: Documentation for Motorola Experimenter 
II 6800 board. Schematic for Burroughs EA2300 
I0-column calculator. Correspondence with hackers 
using Tano Dragon, APF M-l. or TSI0OO. B. R. Pogue, 
POB III, Thatcher. AZ 85552. 

FOR SALE: HP 86 computer, HP interface bus 
82937A, HP dual-disk drives 250K each, and HP 
8291 3A monitor: $2 500 or trade for Apple He. Rick 



Crowsey, 9599 Southeast Valley Court. Hobe Sound, 
FL 33455, (305) 840-1633 or 546-8560. 

WANTED: Religion department at private Lutheran 
college seeks donation of Apple lie, TRS-80 Mode! 
III. or any comparable model with disk drive. 
Shannon Jung. Department of Religion. Concordia 
College. Moorhead. MN 56560. (218) 299-3435. 

FOR SALE: BYTE. July 1976 (volume 1. number 11) 
through December 1982. marked but complete: 
$190 includes UPS shipping in U.S. Jerry Nelson. 3 
Hill Rd.. St. James, NY 11780, (516) 862-9351. 

FOR SALE: Lobo MAX-80 (128K. serial ports, runs 
eight 5-inch/8-inch hard-disk drives, clock, 5-MHz 
Z80, function/numeric keypad. RAM drive) with two 
Shugart I60K drives, books, and original documen- 
tation: $1250. Stewart Dean. POB 120, Lake Hill. NY 
12448, (914) 679-7637. 

FOR SALE: BYTE. September 1975 through present 
in good condition. Missing May 1980 and January 
1982. $2 50 includes shipping. D M. Wyckoff. 5419 
Mariposa Ave., Citrus Heights. CA 95610, (916) 
967-6790 home. (916) 322-7484 work. 

FOR SALE: New Radio Shack Model 16B with two 
disk drives, printer, hard-disk drive, and modem. 
Haas Honda, Route 1. Box 7, Marietta. OH 45750. 
(614) 374-4044. 

FOR SALE: Magnavox Odyssey 1 . the original video- 
game machine. Excellent condition: make an offer 
William Blair, 909 East Emerson. Morton. IL 61 550, 
(309) 266-7032. 

FOR SALE: MS-DOS/CP/M-86 S-100 system. 12 slots, 
8088/8087/8089 CPUs. 128K CMOS RAM, 64K low- 
power RAM (all static), battery-backed-up clock, two 
serial and two parallel ports. Jade bus probe, kludge 
card, two 8-inch DS/DD drives, one 5W-inch SS/DD 
drive. ADM-2A CRT $2450. Flexible: must sell. Dan 
Pritchard. 4721 Bali Court. Albuquerque NM 871 1 II. 

WANTED: Other Olivetti M20 owners to share ideas 
and information. Kurt Moeller. POB 193, Chico. CA 
95927. (916) 893-0887. 

FOR SALE: Tl 59 programmable calculator with 
PC-100C thermal printer, includes over a dozen 
magnetic cards and two rolls of printer paper: $100. 
Ed Cundy. Lyme Rd.. Hanover. NH 03755. (603) 
643-5004 evenings. 

NEEDED: Correspondent who has knowledge of the 
KORG SAS-20 music keyboard's operating system. 
Looking for help in interfacing with computer and 
programming new ROM packs. Bill Tomlinson. 1038 
West Mill St.. Kewanee. IL 61443. 

NEEDED: Victor 9000 owner wants to exchange ideas 
with other Victor users. Philippe Ciraud-Lanoue, 18 
Bd de Perpigna, 17200 Royan, France. 

WANTED: Back issues of BYTE, June through 
September 1982 and August 1983 through May 
1984. Will pay $1 5 and postage. W Michael Yearick, 
305 July Lane #285, Copperas Cove. TX 76522. 

WANTED: CompuPro system. Other multiuser sys- 
tems considered. Alan Born, POB 272, Tiburon. CA 
94920. (415) 924-6352. 

FOR SALE: TRS-80 Model 1, like-new condition. 5Va- 
and 8-inch disks, parallel and RS-232C ports. Pass- 
port 300/1200-bps auto-answer auto-dial modem, 
brand new: $325. Anadex 9501 graphics printer: 
$800. Joe Ruby. 6641 Northwest 22 Court, Margate. 
FL 33063, (305) 972-6641. 

WANTED: Eagle PC II user wants to join/form sup- 
port group to share information, advice. Prefer NYC 
area, but eager to correspond with Eagle users any- 
where. M. C Scarino. 55B Brighton #10 Court. 



Unclassified Ads must be noncommercial from readers 
who have computer equipment to buy. sell or trade on 
a onetime basis. All requests for donated computer equip- 
ment must be from nonprofit organizations. Programs to 
be exchanged must be written by the individual or be in 
the public domain. Ads must be typed double-spaced, con- 
tain 50 words or less, and include full name and address. 
This is a free service: ads are printed as space permits. 
BYTE reserves the right to reject any unclassified ad that 
does not meet these criteria. W/ien you submit your ad 
{BYTE, Unclassified Ads. POB 372. Hancock. NH 
03449), please allow at least four months for it to appear. 



Brooklyn. NY 11235. (718) 646-6988. 

FOR SALE: Heath H-89 Z80 computer with 64 K mem- 
ory, Z-37 double-density floppy-disk controller with 
two SS/DD disk drives, full documentation. Excellent 
condition: $1450. Mike Ulis, 337 Cody Rd.. San 
Dimas, CA 91773. (714) 592-3133 after 5 p.m. 

WANTED: Schematics, service manuals, or other in- 
formation on the GCE Vectrex video-game unit and 
the prototype Vectrex computer add-on unit. Want 
to contact anyone interested in interfacing the Vec- 
trex to other computer hardware. Dennis Lo. 1 862 
East Broadway, Vancouver. BC V5T 1Y1. Canada. 

NEEDED: Information on Tl 99/4A, circuit diagrams, 
and hardware. Roy Antaw, 47 Park Ave, Asnfield, 
New South Wales 2131, Australia. 

FOR SALE: Columbia MPC 384K, two disks, color- 
graphics board, monochrome monitor, Gemini- 1 OX 
printer, 1200-bps modem, and more. Will telephone 
support first month: $3500 for everything. Richard 
Platkin. 222 3rd St., Troy, NY 12180, (518) 271-7449. 

FOR SALE: S-100 static memory boards. CompuPro: 
two RAM IV 06K) and one RAM Ua (8K). All 4 MHz. 
used but in excellent working condition: $100 for 
16K and $75 for 8K or offer. Also, Industrial Micro- 
systems: two 8K at 2 MHz (use 2 102s): $50 each or 
offer. Arnold Cohen, 41-34 52nd St., Apt. 3L, Wood- 
side, NY 11377. (212) 446-0399. 

FOR SALE: Centronics printer Model 779, parallel in- 
terface, friction feed: $500. Anderson-Iacobson IBM 
Selectric keyboard/printer terminal, serial interface 
(to 1200 bps): $600. Both work well. Manuals in- 
cluded: prices negotiable. Jeffrey Katz. 160 West 
87th St.. New York. NY 10024. (212) 873-6717. 

FOR SALE: Level II ROM set with instructions: $100. 
Disk-drive upgrade for Model 111 or 4, less drives: 
$225. Frank Weatherford. Route 12. Hidaway Hill 
#36, Gray, TN 37615. 

FOR SALE: Ohio Scientific timesharing system with 
I04K. 80-megabyte hard disk, two 8-inch floppy-disk 
drives: $8000. Also, extra boards to reconfigure sys- 
tem to support extra users/peripherals. Dana 
Humfleet, 665 East Dublin-Granville #300. Colum- 
bus. OH 43229. (614) 436-9510. 

FOR SALE: HP 85 with 7470 plotter. HPIB interface. 
RS-232C serial port and ROM drawer, I6K expan- 
sion module. All manuals included: best offer. Dave 
Fiske, 8139 Van Noord, North Hollywood. CA 91605. 
(818) 848-4429 days. (818) 989-2070 evenings. 

FOR SALE: Zenith Z-90 computer with 64 K, Z-37 disk 
drive, warranty: make offer. Scott Kudika, 237 Main 
St.. New Kensington, PA 15068, (412) 282-4756. 

WANTED: Schematic diagram for Digital Equipment 
Corp. LA-30P DECwriter. Elwood Jackson, 34 Have- 
lock Dr., Rochester, NY 14615. (716) 621-3266 or 
682-4308. 

FOR SALE: BYTE. September 1975 through July 1984. 
Complete set except July and September 1983 
issues. Best offer over $300 plus shipping. Thomas 
Auiicino. 2014 59th St., Brooklyn. NY 11204. 

WANTED: Manuals or hardware helpful in interfac- 
ing an old Kennedy 3110 nine-track 800-bpi, 2 5-ips 
bare Magtape deck to an HI 1 (Q-bus) or DEC PDP-1 1 
Unibus system. A. DuRea, 101 Indian Lane. Oak 
Ridge. TN 37830, (615) 483-0784. 

FOR SALE: S-100 computer, motherboard mounted 
inside ADDS Regent 25 terminal. 4-MHz Z80 CPU. 
two serial and three parallel ports. 64 K RAM. 8-inch 
and 5'4-inch DD controller. Two Shugart 8-inch 
SS/DD drives. Used by church camp for three years: 
$2000 or best offer. D. Golowka. 6510 Lindley Ave.. 
Reseda, CA 91335. (818) 705-6631. 

WANTED: Will pay good price for used Apple disk 
drives, memory cards, modems, and other equip- 
ment. Would like to trade tips and techniques useful 
on an Apple 11+ or He. Jared Edis. POB 1772, Sum- 
merland. BC V0H 1Z0 Canada, (604) 494-9934. 

FOR SALE: Fortune 32:16 small-business computer, 
console plus two terminals. Expandable to 12 users, 
20-megabyte hard disk, 512K (also expandable), 
new June 1983, moderate use: $15,000. Epson 
MX-100 dot-matrix printer: $500. D. F S., POB 9687, 
Colorado Springs, CO 80909, (303) 471-4633. 

FOR SALE: Hazeltine 1 500 terminal, 80 by 24 lines, 
upper/lowercase, well-designed keyboard, dust 
cover, excellent condition: $2 50 or best offer. 
Christopher Pettus, 10920 Palms Blvd. #110, Los 
Angeles, CA 90034, (213) 202-8925. ■ 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 477 



BOMB 



BYTE's Ongoing Monitor Box 



ARTICLE# PAGE ARTICLE 



AUTHOR(S) 



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The HP Integral Personal Computer Robinson 

Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar: 

Build a Serial EPROM Programmer Ciarcia 

The Macintosh Office Markoff , 

Robinson 

C to Pascal Carnevale 

Simulate a Servo System Stauffer 

Introduction to Image Processing Star 

The Birth of a Computer Nash 

A Low-Cost Data-Acquisition System Okamura, 

Aghai-Tabriz 
Fourier Smoothing Without the 
Fast Fourier Transform .Aubanel. 

Oldham 
Paranoia. A Floating-Point Benchmark ... Karpinski 

Modeling Mass-Action Kinetics Curtis 

Viewing Molecules with the Macintosh ... Kirkland 

Laboratory Interfacing Ford 

Interfacing for Data Acquisition Clune 

NewWord Heilborn, 

Reel 

Janus/Ada Welch 

The Epson Geneva PX-8 Malloy 

Two Modula-2 Compilers for the IBM PC . . Bowyer 

E-Mail for the Masses Rash 

Mannesmann Tally MT 160 Welch 

Computing at Chaos Manor: Troubles Pournelle 

BYTE Japan: Disks and Printers Raike 

BYTE West Coast: What Next? Markoff. 

Robinson, 

Shapiro 

BYTE U.K.: Realizing a Dream Pountain 

Computers and Law: 

Copying Mass-Marketed Software Sterne, 

Saidman 



COVER STORY WINS 

The product description prepared by BYTE's 
Gregg Williams and Ken Sheldon on "The 
Data General/One" is number one in the 
BOMB results for November. Dr. Leo D. 
Bores wins $100 for his feature story on the 
'AG AT A Soviet Apple II Computer," which 
came in second. Jerry Pournelle's "NCC 
Reflections," from Computing at Chaos 
Manor, placed third. In fourth place is "The 
MC68020 3 2 -bit Microprocessor" by Paul F. 
Groepler and James Kennedy. These two 
authors will split the $50 bonus. And in fifth 
place is Steve Ciarcia's Circuit Cellar speech- 
recognition invention, "The Lis'ner 1000." 



BYTE ADVERTISING SALES STAFF: 

|. Peter Huestis, Advertising Sales Manager, 70 Main Street, Peterborough, NH 03458, tel. (603) 924-9281 



NEW ENGLAND 

ME. NH. VT, MA, Rl 

Paul McPherson Jr. (6! 7} 262-1 160 

McGraw-Hill Publications 

575 Boylston Street 

Boston. MA 02 1 16 

ATLANTIC 

NY, NYC. CT 

Dick McGurk (212} 512-3588 

Leah Goldman (212) 512-2096 

McGraw-Hill Publications 

1221 Avenue of the Americas— 

39th Floor 

New York, NY 10020 

EAST 

PA (EAST). N| (SOUTH) 
MD. VA. W.VA. DE. DC. 
Daniel Ferro (2151 496-3833 

McGraw-Hill Publications 
Three Parkway 
Philadelphia, PA 19102 



SOUTHEAST 

NC. SC GA. FL, AL. TN 
Maggie M Dorvee (404) 252-0626 
McGraw-Hill Publications 
4 1 70 Ash ford-Dun woody Road- 
Suite 420 
Atlanta. GA 30319 

MIDWEST 

IL, MO. KS. IA. ND. SD. MN. Wl, HI 

Bob Denmead (3121 751-3740 

McGraw-Hill Publications 

Blair Building 

64 5 North Michigan Ave 

Chicago. IL 60611 

GREAT LAKES. OHIO REGION 

Ml. OH. PA (ALLEGHENY). KY IN. 

EASTERN CANADA 

Mike Kisseberth (313) 352-9760 

McGraw-Hill Publications 
4000 Town Center— Suite 770 
Southheld, Ml 48075 



SOUTHWEST, ROCKY MOUNTAIN 

UT. CO, WY. OK. TX, AR. MS. LA 
Dennis Riley (214) 458-2400 
McGraw-Hill Publications 
Preston wood Tower— Suite 907 
5151 Beltline 
Dallas. TX 75240 

SOUTH PACIFIC 

SOUTHERN CA, AZ. NM. LAS VEGAS 
lack Anderson (714) 557-6292 
McGraw-Hill Publications 
3001 Red Hill Ave. 
Building # I -Suite 222 
Costa Mesa. CA 92626 

Karen Niles (213) 480-5243. 487-1 160 
McGraw-Hill Publications 
3333 Wilshire Boulevard #407 
Los Angeles. C A 90010 



International Advertising Sales Representatives: 



Mr. Hans Csokor 
Publimedia 

Reisnerstrasse 61 

A- 1 03 7 Vienna. Austria 

Mrs Gurit Gepner 
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 
PO Box 2 1 56 
Bat Yam. 5912! Israel 
866 561 321 39 

Mr. Fritz Krusebecker 
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 
Liebigstrasse 19 
D-6000 Frankfurt/Main I 
West Germany 
72 01 81 



Mrs. Maria Sarmiento 
Pedro Teixeira 8, Off. 320 
Iberia Mart I 
Madrid 4. Spain 
45 52 891 

Mr. Andrew Karnig 

Andrew Karnig & Associates 

Finnbodavagen 

S-131 31 Nacka. Sweden 

46-8-44 0005 

Mr. lean Christian Acis 
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 
1 7 rue Georges Bizet 
F 75116 Paris 
France 
720 33 42 



Mr. Arthur Scheffer 
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co 
34 Dover St. 
London WIX 3RA 
England 01 493 1451 

Mr. Savio Pesavento 
McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 
Via Flavio Baracchini 1 
20123 Milan. Italy 
86 90 656 

Seavex Ltd. 

400 Orchard Road, #10-01 

Singapore 0923 

Republic of Singapore 

Tel: 734-9790 

Telex RS35539 SEAVEX 



NORTH PACIFIC 

HI. WA, OR, ID, MT. NORTHERN CA. 

NV (except LAS VEGAS). W. CANADA 

David lern (415) 362-4600 

McGraw-Hill Publications 

42 5 Battery Street 

San Francisco. C A 94 1 1 1 

Bill McAfee (4 1 5) 964-0624 

McGraw-Hill Publications 
1000 Elwell Court-Suite 225 
Palo Alto, CA 94303 

WEST COAST SURPLUS 
AND RETAIL ACCOUNTS 

Tom Harvey (805) 964-8577 
3463 State Street -Suite 2 56 
Santa Barbara. C A 93105 

Post Card Mailings 
National 

Bradley Browne (603) 924-6166 

BYTE Publications 
70 Main Street 
Peterborough. NH 03458 



Seavex Ltd. 

503 Wilson House 

19-27 Wyndham St. 

Central. Hong Kong 

Tel: 5-260149 

Telex: 60904 SEVEX HX 

Hiro Morita 

McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 

Overseas Corp 

Room 1528 

Kasumigaseki Bldg. 

3-2-5 Kasumigaseki. 

Chiyoda-Ku 

Tokyo 100, lapan 

581 9811 



478 B YTE • FEBRUARY 1985 



READER SERVICE 



Inquiry No. 



Page No. 



1 1st PLACE SYSTEMS 226 

2 2500 AD SOFTWARE 396, 397 

3 4-5-6 WORLD 390 

4 800 SOFTWARE 195 

5 A ST RESEARCH 19 

6 AST RESEARCH 19 

7 AB COMPUTERS 192 

8 ABC DATA PRODUCTS ... 400 

9 ACL INC 229 

10 ADDM ASTER CORP 430 

1 1 ADV COMP. PROD 429 

12 ADV. COMPUTER SYS 381 

13 ADV DIGITAL CORP 273 

14 ADV. DIGITAL CORP 273 

336 AFTEK 275 

337 AFTEK 391 

15 ALF PRODUCTS. INC. . , 144 

16 ALLIED MICRO DEVICES 450 

18 AMBER SYSTEMS 129 

19 AMBER SYSTEMS 172. 173 

21 AMER DESIGN COMPONENTS445 
366 AMPERE INC 186 

22 AMPRO COMPUTERS INC 86 

* APPLE COMPUTER INC Cll. 1 

23 APPLEWARE INC 384 

187 APPLIED SOFTWARE TECH . 243 

24 APROPOS TECHNOLOGY .444 

349 ARTISOFT 76 

350 ARTISOFT 76 

25 ASHTONTATE 348. 349 

26 AUSTIN SCIENTIFIC 32 

27 AVOCET 219 

28 B6B ELECTRONICS 450 

• B&C MICROSYSTEMS 447 

344 BASF SYSTEMS 279 

29 BAY TECHNICAL ASSOC . 23 

30 BINARY TECHNOLOGY 384 

32 BLAISE COMPUTING INC. . 190 

33 BORLAND INTL 20. 21 

34 BORLAND INTL 28. 29 

36 BOTTOM LINE, THE 268 

" BYTE PUBL. INC 392 

* BYTE BACK ISSUES 412 

* BYTE SUBSCRIBER NOTICE . . 410 

• BYTE SUBSCRIBER SERVICE 350 

37 BYTEK COMP SYS. CORP .86 

• C WARE/DESMET C 266 

* C-SYSTEMS 471 

38 C. ITOH DIGITAL PRODUCTS . 38 

39 C ITOH DIGITAL PRODUCTS 38 

• CALIF DIGITAL 460.461 

* CALIF MICRO COMP 471 

42 CANDELARIA WORKS 450 

43 CAPITAL EQUIPMENT CORP . 230 
45 CDR SYSTEMS 322 

• CERMETEK MICROELECTRONICS 179 

48 CHIPSOFT INC 447 

49 CHORUS DATA SYSTEMS 79 

50 CMA MICRO COMP D1V . 70 
362 COGITATE 444 

51 COMP COMPNTS. UNLTD464. 465 

52 COMP COMPNTS UNLTD466, 467 
54 COMPETITIVE EDGE 84 

56 COMPUDEC 16 

57 COMPUMAIL 470 

58 COMPUPRO 46. 47 

59 COMPUSERVE 376 

60 COMPUTER AFFAIRS INC ... 314 

61 COMPUTER AFFAIRS INC 405 

62 COMPUTER BROKERAGE SERV308 
347 COMPUTER CAREERS 353 

63 COMPUTER CHANNEL 417 

• COMPUTER CHRONICLES 323 

64 COMPUTER CONNECTION INC.435 

65 COMPUTER DISCOUNT PROD437 

* COMPUTER FRIENDS 231 

66 COMPUTER INNOVATIONS . . 347 



Inquiry No. 



Page No. 



67 COMPUTER MAIL ORDER260, 261 

68 COMPUTER PARTS MERCHANT431 

69 COMPUTER SOURCE 400 

* COMPUTER WAREHOUSE .189 

70 COMPUTERBANC 60 

71 COMPUTERS AND MORE ... 342 

72 CONROYLAPOINTE . . . 124. 125 

73 CONROYLAPOINTE 124, 125 

74 CONROYLAPOINTE .... 124. 125 

75 COSMOS 146 

76 CROMEMCO 5 

77 CUESTA SYSTEMS 370 

78 CUSTOM COMP TECH 432 

79 CUSTOM COMP TECH 433 

80 CYMA CORPORATION 206 

81 CYMA CORPORATION 206 

361 DAISY DATA TERMINALS CORR447 

82 DATA EXCHANGE 450 

83 DATA EXCHANGE 322 

85 DATA SPEC 94 

86 DATA SPEC 94 

44 DATA TRANSLATION INC. ... 316 

87 DATASOUTH COMP. CORP .310 

88 DECISION RESOURCES 135 

360 DECMAT10N 450 

372 DIGITAL PRODUCTS INC ... 334 

* DIGITAL RESEARCH COMP 67 

89 DIRECTCONNECT DEVICES. .442 

90 DISCOUNT COMPUTER . . 150 

• DISCOUNT COMPUTER CENTERS398 

91 DISKETTE CONNECTION .... 411 

92 DISKS PLUS 447 

93 DISKWORLD INC 440 

94 DISPLAY TELECOMMNCTNS 

458. 459 

95 DOKAY COMP PROD INC. 448. 449 

96 DOW IONES SOFTWARE .... 227 

97 DOW IONES SOFTWARE 378 

359 DWIGHT CO. INC ......... 471 

98 DYSAN CORP. 61 

345 EASTMAN KODAK CO 12. 13 

346 EASTMAN KODAK CO. . 284. 285 

• ECONOMY SOFTWARE 157 

101 ECOSOFT 30 

102 EDUCATIONAL MICROCOMP 390 

103 ELECTRONIC PROTECTION DEV 162 

104 ELEK-TEK 188 

180 ELEXOR 444 

* ELLIS COMPUTING INC 93 

• EMPIRICAL RESEARCH GROUP 158 

105 ENCHANTED FOREST 442 

107 EPSON AMERICA 277 

108 ERICSSON COMPUTER CO 62. 63 

109 EXPOTEK 254 

110 EXPRESS BUSINESS SOFTWARE 18 

111 FALCON SAFETY PROD 134 

369 FORTRON. INC 438 

370 FORTRON INC 438 

113 FOX & GELLER INC 152 

114 FOX SOFTWARE INC 384 

115 FRIENDLY COMPUTER 78 

116 FUJITSU AMERICA 184 

117 FUJITSU AMERICA 185 

120 GENERAL TECHNOLOGY 77 

121 GIFTC>RDCOMPSYSjZrrELCORP215 

122 GILTRONIX. INC 322 



Inquiry No. 



Page No. 



123 GOLD HILL COMPUTER 119 

124 GOLDEN BOW SYSTEMS ... 471 

125 GREAT SALT LAKE COMP456. 457 
" GRYPHON MICRO PROD 94 

126 GTEK INC 91 

127 H&E COMPUTRONICS 87 

128 HADAX ELECTRONICS 430 

371 HALLOCK SYSTEMS 232 

130 HANZON DATA INC 70 

131 HARMONY VIDEO & COMP . . 78 

132 HARMONY VIDEO & COMP 411 

133 HAYES MICROCOMP PROD , 290 

134 HEATH COMPANY 187 

135 HERCULES COMPUTER TECH. 25 

136 HERMES PRECISA INTL 213 

138 HOFFMAN INTL 382 

139 HOUSTON INSTR/BAUSCH&LOMB283 

140 HUMAN DESIGNED SYSTEMS288 
• HYPERON SOFTWARE 354 

143 IBM CORP 136, 137 

339 IBM - USGl SERVICES 401 

145 INFOCOM 56. 57 

146 INNOVATIVE SOFTWARE406, 407 

147 INOVION CORP. 24 

148 INPUT/OUTPUT TECHNOLOGY . 55 

149 INTEGRAND 413 

150 INTELLIGENT DATA SYS INC 45 

151 INTERACTIVE STRUCTURES 54 

152 INTERACTIVE STRUCTURES. 68 

153 INTERACTIVE STRUCTURES. . .90 

154 INTERFACE TECH. CORP. 414. 415 

156 IOMEGA 373 

157 IOMEGA . 375 

158 IOMEGA 377 

159 JADE COMP PROD. 451 

160 JADE COMP. PROD 452. 453 

161 IAMECO ELECTRONICS 220. 221 

162 IDR MICRODEVICES INC 472. 473 

163 IDR MICRODEVICES INC 474. 475 

164 IDR MICRODEVICES INC . . . .476 

165 JIM-PAK 196, 197 

166 IUKI INDUSTRY OF AMERICA 299 
335 KADAK PRODUCTS 74 

168 KEITHLEY/DAS 329 

169 KENSINGTON MICROWARE 58 

170 KEYWORD OFFICE TECH ... 149 

171 KIMTRON 145 

172 KRUEGER TECHNOLOGY .... 446 

173 LABORATORY MICROSYS 30 

174 LANGLEYSTCLAIR 244 

175 LARK SOFTWARE 404 

176 LATTICE. INC 333 

177 LAWSON LABS 400 

178 LEADING EDGE PROD. 49 

179 LEVEL 5 RESEARCH 322 

181 LIFEBOAT ASSOC 300. 301 

182 L1NDE TECHNOLOGY INC ... 193 

183 LINTEK INC 471 

184 LIONHEART PRESS 430 

185 LOGICAL DEVICES 346 

186 LOGICAL DEVICES 447 

188 LOMAS DATA PRODUCTS . . 267 

190 LYBEN COMP. SYS 382 

191 LYCO COMPUTER 222 

192 MACMILLAN SOFTWARE248. 249 

193 MAGNUM PC 280 



TO GET FURTHER information on the products advertised in BYTE, either 
pick up your touch-tone telephone and use AIMS or fill out the reader 
service card. Either way full instructions are provided following this reader 
service index which is provided as an additional service by the publisher, 
who assumes no liability for errors or omissions. 'Correspond directly 
with company. 



Inquiry No 



Page No. 



368 MANAGEMENT INFO. SOURCE262 

194 MANX SOFTWARE SYS 52 

195 MANX SOFTWARE SYS 53 

196 MARIACHI OY 127 

197 MARK WILLIAMS CO 75 

198 MARVEL SOFTWARE 282 

199 MARYMAC INDUSTRIES 442 

200 MASTERBYTE COMP OF NY 92 

201 MAXELL DATA PRODUCTS .... 7 

202 MAYNARD ELECTRONICS ... 15 
358 MEGATEL 66 

203 MERRITT COMP PRODUCTS . 471 

204 M ETCH EM INTL CORP ... 322 

205 META SYSTEM INC 471 

206 MFJ ENTERPRISES INC 258 

207 MICRO AGE COMP STORES INC 141 

208 MICRO DATA BASE SYS 181 

209 MICRO DATA BASE SYS 356, 357 

210 MICRO DESIGN INTL 309 

211 MICRO MART INC 72. 73 

212 MICRO PRODUCTS. INC 434 

355 MICROCOMPUTER ACCESSOR! ES31 

356 MICROCOMPUTER ACCESSORIES31 

• MICROMINT INC 408 

215 MICROPROCESSORS UNLTD 444 

216 MICROSHOP 432 

217 MICROSIM CORP 26 

218 MICROSIM CORP 26 

• MICROSOFT CORP 167 

• MICROSOFT CORP. 169 

• MICROSOFT CORP 171 

• MICROSOFT CORP 315 

219 M1CROSTUF. INC 363 

309 MICRO-TERM. INC 84 

220 MICROTIME 4 

221 MICROWAY 238 

40 MICTRO 66 

222 MIDWEST MICRO-PERIPHERALS 180 
" MINORITY INDUSTRIES 50 

223 MODTECH INTERNATIONAL 241 

224 MODULA SYS. CORP 69 

225 MOORE BUSINESS CENTERS . 76 

226 MT1 SYSTEMS CORP. 186 

227 MULTI-TECH SYSTEMS 224 

367 MYTECH 410 

228 N.B.S 92 

229 NATL. PUBLIC DOMAIN SFTW.450 

342 NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS. .34 
55 NCDA 471 

230 NCR 35 

343 NEC HOME ELECTR. USA . . 265 

232 NEC INFORMATION SYS Clll 

233 NEW GENERATION SYS . 368 

234 NORTH HILLS CORP 442 

235 NORTH HILLS CORP 354 

• NRl SCHOOLS ELECTR DIV 385 

236 OPEN SYSTEMS/UCCEL 351 

237 OPTO-22 336 

238 OPTO-22 336 

239 ORCHID TECHNOLOGY 271 

240 ORION INSTRUMENTS 218 

241 ORYX SYSTEMS 418, 419 

242 ORYX SYSTEMS 418. 419 

243 ORYX SYSTEMS 418. 419 

244 PACIFIC EXCHANGES 

442. 444. 447. 450, 

245 PARAGON COURSEWARE 444 

246 PC NETWORK 204. 205 

247 PC PIPELINE 450 

248 PC'S LIMITED 439 

249 PERSOFT INC 151 

250 PIPELINE COMPUTER 469 

252 POCKET TECHNOLOGY 247 

254 POLAROID CORP. 88. 89 

255 PRINCETON GRAPHIC SYS 36. 37 
334 PRIORITY ONE 443 

256 PROGRAMMERS SHOP 341 



FEBRUARY 1985 -BYTE 479 



READER SERVICE 



inquiry No. 



Page No. 



257 PROGRAMMERS SHOP 345 

258 PROGRESSIVE MICRO DISTR 

462. 463 

259 PURPLE COMPUTING . 354 

260 04 INSTRUMENTS INC 388 

261 QIC RESEARCH 255 

262 QUALITY PRINTERS 430 

263 QUANT SYSTEMS 442 

264 QUARK INCORPORATED 17 

265 QUBIE DISTRIBUTING 209 

266 QUBIE DISTRIBUTING 335 

* RACALVADIC 364, 365 

268 RADIO SHACK CIV 

269 RELAX TECHNOLOGY 235 

363 ROSE ELEC 444 

351 R R BOWKER 343 

271 S-100 D!V 696 CORP 441 

272 S-100 DIV 696 CORP 441 

273 SAFEWARE 442 

274 SATELLITE SOFTWARE 374 

275 SAVON COMPUTERS 454, 455 

* SCOTTSDALE SYSTEMS 64 

276 SECURITY MICROSYSTEMS 405 

277 SEEQUA COMP CORP. 8 

278 SEMIDISK SYSTEMS . 217 

280 SHEPHERD MARKETING 430 



Inquiry No. 



Page No. 



• SILICON SPECIALTIES 403 

' SILVER FOX 202 

281 SL WABER 324 

282 SL1CER COMPUTERS 395 

283 SOFTLINE CORP 82 

284 SOFTSTYLE INC 131 

285 SOFTWARE EXCHANGE 444 

287 SOFTWARE LINK THE 143 

288 SOFTWARE SERVICES 430 

289 SOFTWARE SERVICES 405 

290 SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS INC 281 

291 SOLUTION WARE CORP 447 

292 SOURCE TELECOMP. CORP . 245 

293 SP COMPUTERS 74 

294 SPEAR SECURITIES 133 

295 SPECTRUM SOFTWARE 211 

354 SPERRY COMPUTER SYS 154, 155 

296 SPRUCE TECHNOLOGY CORP 276 

297 STANDARD MICROSYS CORP 95 

298 STARBUCK DATA CO 447 

357 STARSHINE 370 

299 STRIDE MICRO .. . 321 

300 SUMMIT SOFTWARE TECHN. INC 246 

301 SUNNY INTL 428 

302 SUNTRONICS CO INC 428 

303 SUPER COMPUTER INC 176 



Inquiry No. 



Page No. 



304 

305 

306 

310 



311 
106 

312 
313 
314 
315 
317 
318 
319 
320 
321 
322 
323 
353 
324 



SUPERSOFT 330 

SYNALTA SYSTEMS . 450 

SYSGEN INC 338 

SYSTEMS MANAGMNT ASSOC 383 
TALLGRASS TECH . . 80. 81 

TATUM LABS 444 

TEKTRONIX INC 159 

TELETEK ENTERPRISES. INC. . 41 
TELEVIDEO SYSTEMS 191 

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS 11 

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS 386 

TIGERTRONICS 442 

TINNEY. ROBERT GRAPHICS . 436 

TOPAZ INC 358 

TOPAZ INC 358 

TOSHIBA AMERICA INC 71 

TRANSTECTOR SYSTEMS INC250 

UNIFIED SOFTWARE SYS 390 

UNISOURCE 43 

UNLIMITED PERIPHERALS . . 471 
UNLIMITED PROCESSING INC203 

VAULT CORP 233 

VEN-TEL INC 257 

VICTORY ENT TECHNOLOGY . 85 

VIASYN/COMPUPRO 366 

VIDEX 27 



Inquiry No. 



Page No. 



325 VISUAL TECH. INC 160, 161 

* VIM COMPUTER ELECTR 447 

327 WADSWORTH PROF SFTW 361 

328 WALLING COMPANY 442 

* WAREHOUSE DATA PRODUCTS 182 

329 WESTERN VIDEO 132 

330 WESTREX OEM PRODUCTS . . 225 

331 WINTEK CORP. 234 

332 WINTEK CORP 382 

365 XEROX 236. 237 

352 Z-SOFT 51 

348 ZSTEM COMMUNICATIONS D1V322 

* Correspond directly with company 



INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING SECTION 

500 AMERICAN BUYING & EXPORT32C 
* BYTE 32B 

501 CASIO COMPUTER CO 32D 

502 HIGH TECH ELECTRONICS 32A 

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480 BYTE- FEBRUARY 1985 



MO OTHER LETTER-QUALITY 
PRINTER CAN TOUCH OUR 
NEW SPINWRITER FOR SPEED 
AND EASE- 
OF-USE. 



Introducing the 
Spinwriter 8850. 

Our newest, and fastest, Spinwriter® 
printer operates at over 550 words- 
per-minute. And is extraordinarily 
easy to operate. 

For one thing the Spinwriter 8850 
takes care of basic settings such as 
pitch and forms length automatically. 
Of course you can also change either 




THE 8850 
JOINS THE 
HIGHLY-RELIABLE 

SPINWRITER LINE. 

one at the touch 
of a button. It also 
has a unique control panel. 
With large, legible alphanumeric 
LED's to indicate the specific oper- 
ating status. 
And make it 
simple for 
even an un- 
familiar oper- 
ator to use. 
And, of 
course, the 
8850 has all 
the features, 
quality and 
reliability that 
make a Spinwriter a Spinwriter. 

The first choice of IBM PC 
users . 

The Spinwriter printer was the first 
totally plug compatible letter-quality 



UNIQUE LED DISPLAY TELLS 

USER EVERYTHING FROM THE 

FACT THAT PAPER IS OUT 






printer available for 
the IBM® PC. It's 
still one of the few 
that works with all 
IBM PC software, 
as well as all other 
popular packages. 
You'll notice 
even its 
looks are 
com- 
patible. 




Spinwriter 
printers also 
give you capa- 
bilities you won't 
find on other prin- 
ters. Like a selection 
of 80 different print 
styles. 

And, nine easily 
installed forms han- 
dling options that 
can accelerate your 
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more. Spinwriter 
printers also have 
an enviable record 
for reliability. 

In fact, several 



CHANGE FORMS LENGTH 
AT THE PRESS OF A BUTTON- 

years without a failure is not unusual. 
No wonder there are more Spinwriter 
printers hooked up to IBM PC's than 
any other letter-quality printer. 

How to get up to speed. 

For more information 
on the Spinwriter 8850 
or our two companion 




THE 8850 PLUGS RIGHT 
INTO THE IBM PC 






models, just call NEC Inform- 
tion Systems at: 1-800- 
343-4419; in Massachu- 
setts call (617)264-8635. 
Also available at: 
Entre, 1-800-HI 
ENTRE: Sears 
Business Sys- 
tem Cen- 
k ters, 1- 
800-228- 
2200; 
and 

Comput- 
erland 
stores, (In 
California) 
1-800-321- 
1101; (Out- 
side Califor- 
nia) 1-800- 
423-3008. 
Find out why 
more and more 
IBM PC users 
are saying, 
NEC and me," 




NEC 

AND 



Spinwriter is a registered trademark of NEC Corp. IBM is a registered 
trademark of International Business Machines Corp. 

Inquiry 232 



ukr 





TANDY.. 

Clearly Superior" 

It's evident when you can cover the g 
MS-DOS market with a line of computers 
unmatched in performance and value. 



Tandj^brings you not one, 
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Like the IBM PC- AT, the 
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Our new Tandy 1000 comes 
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The Tandy 1000 has many 
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TANDY 
2000 





T I 1 I I " ! I - 



and light pen, plus a Disk Op- 
erating System and BASIC — 
all for only $1199. 

For the best in technology^ 
support, service and value, 
stop by your local Radio 
Shack Computer Center. We 
invite comparison! 

Available at over 1200 

Radio Sftack Computer Centers and at 

participating Radio Shack stores and dealers 



rET. \uli [y 



COMPUTER CENTERS 

A DIVISION OF TANDY CORPORATION 



TA Noy 
J *00 HD 




E 7- 



ADVANCED 



AND AFFORDABLE TOO J 



Engineered for Excellence 

We've introduced the latest in technol- 
ogy for over 60 years. The Tandy 1000 
and 2000 represent the state of the art 
in performance, quality and price. 



'Plus applicable use/sales tax. Tandy 2000, 1200 HD and tOOO prices do not include monitor 
and apply at Radio Shack Computer Centers and participating stores and dealers. IBM/ 
registered TM International Business Machines Corp. 



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